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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The disgraced Eliot Spitzer had hardly resigned as governor of New York when Republican strategists began calculating a return to power in Albany via New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lt. Gov. David Paterson, Spitzer's successor as governor, is considered a weak prospect for the 2010 election and might not even be the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg, finishing two successful terms as mayor in 2009, might find life as a private citizen boring enough to try for governor. Bloomberg, who changed his affiliation from Republican to independent, could obtain the Independence Party nomination for governor, and then be endorsed...

Saturday's special election has left area Republicans stunned, and some of them are directing their ire at Jim Oberweis and his campaign. Democrat Bill Foster defeated Oberweis by roughly 5,000 votes Saturday to become the new congressman in the 14th District. That seat has only been held by a Democrat once, immediately after Watergate, and has been in the hands of retired Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert for the past 21 years. The 14th District has long been considered a Republican stronghold. So how did Foster, a scientist and businessman from Geneva, muster enough votes to win?

CHICAGO -- Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today named two of the state’s most influential leaders, former Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University (SIU) President and former U.S. Congressman Glenn Poshard, as co-chairs of the newly created Illinois Works Coalition. The new bipartisan working group will draw expertise from business, labor and local leaders across the state and will focus on helping pass a statewide infrastructure plan in Illinois. Last month in his annual budget address, Gov. Blagojevich proposed Illinois Works, a $25 billion capital plan, as the central piece of a statewide stimulus package aimed...

Democrat Bill Foster’s victory over Republican Jim Oberweis in Saturday’s special election in Illinois is evidence of the clamor for change in the countryside? Perhaps. Are exurban Chicagoans disgusted with Washington? Yes, they are. But there were some uniquely local factors that were more decisive. This was Oberweis’ fourth run for high office since 2002. Over the past six years, he has turned in more stale, lackluster, straight-to-video performances than Matthew McConaughey. The dairy magnate’s gaffe-filled campaigns have demonstrated one thing clearly: he has exponentially more personal wealth than good sense. He burst onto the scene in 2002 running for...

The retirement of Dennis Hastert, the former Speaker of the House, has led to the loss of his seat from the Republican ranks. In a low-turnout special election, political newcomer Bill Foster beat Jim Oberweis to win the seat for the Democrats. The loss leaves the GOP looking even more impotent in Illinois than ever before (via Memeorandum): In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a sign of trouble for Republicans this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a far west suburban congressional seat long held by former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert.Rookie candidate Bill...

A longtime Republican district fell to the Democrats Saturday when a wealthy businessman and scientist snatched former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional seat in a closely watched special election. Democrat Bill Foster won 52 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Republican Jim Oberweis. With 565 of 568 precincts reporting, Foster had 51,140 votes to Oberweis' 46,270.

FOR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS - 14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT (Vote for 1) Votes % of Votes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Oberweis 4332 52.86% Bill Foster 3798 46.35%

Voters in former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's district will choose a new congressman in a special election Saturday, but there's one thing they won't replace: his clout. Hastert funneled millions of dollars to the district during his 21 years in Washington, but his retirement means his seat will go to either Democrat Bill Foster or Republican Jim Oberweis _ two wealthy businessmen with no seniority on Capitol Hill. "That's something he (Hastert) had to earn. It will be a learning curve for whoever gets in there," said William Barclay, an alderman in the Chicago suburb of Geneva. Democrats are eager...

Update: Special Election Saturday in the 14th Congressional Race to Replace GOP Former House Speaker Hastert. . . Oberweis vs. Foster Posted by: mcpundit | February 28th, 2008 | Category: HASTERT RACE McPundit Comment: Back in July, we had an exclusive that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was retiring as our source told us his staff had been informed to start looking for jobs; but also in July, Hastert said, “I’m running”. In October, he said he said he didn’t plan to retire; and then SURPRISE, HE WAS JUST KIDDING, he not only announced his retirement but he was also...

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert questioned John McCain’s Republican credentials today, saying he was always known among the GOP as “the undependable vote” in the Senate and always “allied with Democrats.”

GRAND BLANC -- On the evening before Michigan's primary, Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert had words of encouragement for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign volunteers. "You're work getting people to the polls and getting them to check the right delegate has paid off," Hastert told about 20 campaign volunteers and supporters Monday at Romney's Grand Blanc campaign operations center, 5225 E. Cook Road. "We can't do it without folks like you." Hastert -- who also has worked with Republican presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain during his political career -- said Romney has the background and...

In his retirement speech on the floor Thursday afternoon, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said his heart will always be in the House and called for greater civility in the lower chamber. The former Speaker thanked his wife, Jean, who was in the chamber, and also recognized the dean of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.). After Hastert was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), members rose and applauded him for several minutes. Senate GOP leaders Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Trent Lott (Miss.) attended the speech and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) wiped away tears as Hastert spoke. Hastert...

Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, who served as House speaker longer than any other Republican, bade farewell to his colleagues Thursday, confirming that he will not complete his 11th term. Hastert, 65, did not say exactly when he will resign, but indicated it will be soon. He said his speech would be his last from the House floor. The 110th Congress will end in January 2009. He later told reporters, "I think I'll be gone by the first of the year." In his 16-minute address, Hastert recounted his career's high points, concluding: "It's time for this legislator to return to being...

The Roll Call newspaper in Washington reported on its website this evening that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois intends to resign his House seat later this year. The subscription-only site said Hastert, who had already announced he would not seek reelection in 2008, was calling friends and associates today and telling them of his decision. His early departure would create the need for a special election in his exurban Chicago district, possibly on Illinois' Feb. 5 presidential primary day. The 65-year-old former high school teacher and wrestling coach, first elected to the U.S. House in 1986 after six...

Aurora Republican state Sen. Chris Lauzen will announce today his plans to run for Congress, seeking the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert. "The reason why I'm running is I'd like to serve my neighbors by continuing to provide the best constituent service at home and then to reinforce those people in Washington who are using good judgment," Lauzen told the Daily Herald on Tuesday. The pending retirement of Hastert, the former Republican House speaker, is attracting a crowd in both the Republican and Democratic parties. On the Democratic side, Geneva scientist and businessman Bill Foster is...

Denny Hastert never met a problem he couldn’t solve. He was so good at legislating that it’s possible he would have been just as successful in his career had he never been Speaker at all. That is to say, Denny didn’t need the gavel to lead, but to a greater degree than many know, Congress needed him to govern. He was as committed a conservative and as loyal a Republican as I ever met, and yet principled liberals and partisan Democrats never had a harsh word for him. Whether as a back-bencher, as my chief deputy whip, or as Speaker...

WASHINGTON -- It is indicative of the bias that gusts through our media that when the most successful political strategist in memory, Karl Rove, retires from his powerful position in the Bush White House, the press reports his departure tsk-tskingly. Somehow Rove's departure must suggest his failure and disgrace. Or as some nitwit anchoring the midday CNN news broadcast, "Your World Today," put it when I was walking past a television monitor, "Does that mean the Bush administration is essentially over?" And we are told FOX News is biased. What about stupid? Well, who has been a finer political strategist...

(CBS) CHICAGO Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is in Asia, but he's scheduled a news conference in Kendall County for Friday. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports exclusively sources say that they expect Hastert to announce he will not seek re-election next year. In personal terms, it's been a big year for him and wife, Jean. Denny Hastert turned 65, and the couple just welcomed their first grandchild, Jack Hastert, to the family. He also had to surrender the speaker's gavel to a Democrat. While sources tell CBS 2 that he’s leaving Congress after 22 years, he’s ridiculed...

The congressional retirement season has started, and it appears former Speaker Dennis Hastert may soon announce his own plans to ride off into the sunset. The Illinois Republican sent supporters a letter over the weekend asking them to join him for a speech this Friday at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville, Ill. The letter does not say whether he'll run for reelection in 2008 or announce his retirement, but speculation skews heavily toward retirement. And neither Hastert nor his aides have done much to dispel the widely accepted opinion back home that he'll call it quits. For example, an...

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday afternoon condemning a British call to boycott Israeli universities. The measure, approved 414 to 0, urged the European Union and governments around the world to reject the call by the leadership of the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to cease cooperation with Israeli institutions. The resolution describes the "senseless" boycott as "a dangerous assault on the principles of academic freedom and open exchange" and a move that "contributes to the deligitimization and demonization of the state of Israel." The resolution was the first bill freshman Representative Patrick...