Final Ill.-08 Count: Rep. Melissa Bean Down by 291 Votes

[tritsofme]

Source: Roll Call

Republican Joe Walsh still leads Rep. Melissa Bean (D) by 291 votes after county clerks in the northern Illinois district counted the last of the absentee and provisional ballots. Walsh finished with 98,115 votes, while Bean finished with 97,824 votes. Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer got 6,495 votes.

This 8th district race is one of several that remain outstanding weeks after the election. The clerks had to receive absentee ballots by Nov. 16 for them to count, so this is the final tally.

In suburban Cook County, the most Democratic part of the district, Bean earned 30,025 votes, and Walsh got 23,848 votes, according to an updated total on the county clerk’s website. In Lake and McHenry counties, however, Walsh finished on top, according to the county clerks’ offices. In Lake County, Walsh finished with 55,148 votes and Bean with 52,025. In McHenry County the Republican got 19,119 votes and the Democrat got 15,774 votes.

The state board must certify results by Dec. 3, and Bean has until Dec. 8 to ask for a recount in up to a quarter of the precincts in each of the three counties.

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/-200628-1.html

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Walsh is a Tea Party nut. This was a race that wasn't even supposed to be competitive. Melissa Bean is my congresswoman, very disappointing.

[derby378]

1. Well, shee-it

More cold November rain for the Democrats. Thank you, Melissa, for at least trying.

[kurtzapril4]

2. Melissa is a Blue Dog

She's my Representative. I voted for her last time, and I voted for her this time, but she is a DINO. The only reason I voted for her was I didn't want to see Walsh get in, otherwise I would have voted for Scheurer. Like most Blue Dogs, she was defeated. Didn't Truman have something to say about given the choice between an watered down Republican and the real thing, most people will vote for the real thing?

This is what happened to Melissa Bean. She was a Blue-Dog, New Democrat, Republican-Lite DINO.

The only upside of this is that Walsh can't claim some kind of mandate.

[coffeenap]

5. Same...Nt

[tritsofme]

8. Bean only got the seat because she is a blue dog.

This was a Republican seat for decades before Bean. A more liberal candidate would never have won in the first place.

This time around she got lazy and ran a Martha Coakley like campaign and lost.

[coffeenap]

10. Yes, it was disconcerting to see 20 Walsh signs for every one of hers.

But, at the same time I couldn't get out there for her. My conscience just wouldn't let me, even though I worked hard for her when she initially ran. I must admit that it felt great at the time to see this district go blue.

[derby378]

12. I don't get it with this crop of lazy Democratic candidates

Whether DINOs, progressives, or whatever, don't they want to win/retain public office? They need to act like it.

[brentspeak]

13. Bean is moderately liberal on social issues, but a complete, 100% Wall St. lackey

[MidwestTransplant]

3. He's a one termer. 2012 will bring IL dems out to vote again.

[kurtzapril4]

4. Only if we're given someone to vote for. n/t

[onehandle]

6. 'Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer got 6,495'

If only five percent of them had a grip on reality.

[harmonicon]

7. Yeah, blame them...

not the 98,115 people who you think must be total sensible who voted for the Republican.

[hayu_lol]

9. You really have to face the facts...

Green Party members are spoilers.

They feel so 'pure.' And, never, ever, take votes from Repugnants.

[harmonicon]

11. That's completely illogical.

You're saying that you don't want Republicans to win, right? So, instead of blaming the people who voted for the Republicans for them winning, you blame those who voted for Greens, despite the fact that - in this case - the ration between them was 16:1.

If two independents were running who were both avowed KKK members, but one also admits to beating his wife, is it then your duty to vote for the one who doesn't beat his wife? People can vote for whoever the fuck they want to and should never vote for people they don't want to vote for.

Instead of complaining about people engaging in the democratic process, maybe you should complain about the process, or those who don't engage in it. I imagine that more than 6.000 eligible votes didn't vote in that election. Why is it not more their fault than those who turned up to vote?

I do think that we should have instant-run-off ballots, and that case is especially made by races like this one. However, instead of pushing for that, people for whom that change would favour go out and blame those who did vote. That makes no sense to me. No one can "take votes" from someone else - that's not how elections work in the US. You can only vote for someone, not against someone.