Story Created:
Nov 5, 2008 at 1:24 AM EST
Story Updated:
Nov 5, 2008 at 1:24 AM EST
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinoisans overwhelmingly backed Barack Obama as he surged to a historic White House victory Tuesday, and Democrats hoped enthusiasm for the Illinois senator would lift the rest of the ticket.
Tens of thousands of people, gathered in Chicago's Grant Park for an Obama rally, erupted in cheers when word of his success went out. Some cried as the nation elected its first black president.
Sen. Dick Durbin, one of Obama's biggest cheerleaders, was another winner. Just days after his daughter died, Durbin defeated Republican physician Steve Sauerberg to earn a third term.
Democrats also picked up an open congressional seat, held onto a seat they took from Republicans in a special election earlier this year and were likely to expand their majority in the Illinois House.
But the Democratic wave wasn't quite a tsunami.
One congressional candidate who explicitly linked himself to Obama was defeated by a Republican incumbent. Republicans held onto some congressional seats that Democrats had hoped to steal, and Democrats struggled in two key state Senate contests.
With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 2,927,217 votes, or 61 percent, and Republican John McCain had 1,838,726 votes, or 38 percent.
Miranda Young, an 18-year-old college student in Chicago, was in the hospital for an ovarian cyst, but said she left the facility to vote for Obama.
"I think Obama would produce more change than McCain, and he inspires so many people," she said.
Obama reached the national stage just four years ago, when he was elected to the Senate and delivered a star-making speech at the Democratic National Convention.
"He doesn't have experience, which some people think is a downfall but I think it is a good thing," said Mike Gigliello, a 25-year-old construction worker from Lombard. "The more time you spend in Washington, the more people are waiting for you to return favors."
Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, achieved his victory just days after the death of his daughter. Christine Durbin, 40, had a congenital heart condition.
"Thank you to the people of Illinois for this vote of confidence," Durbin said in a statement, adding that he appreciates the "outpouring" of sympathy over his family's loss.
He was never seriously threatened by Sauerberg, who didn't raise enough money to mount a major campaign.
"We may have come up short tonight, but our efforts were not in vain and our work is not done," Sauerberg said in a statement. "Each of us has an obligation ... to continue to fight for the future of Illinois."
With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Durbin had 3,124,068 votes, or 67 percent, and Sauerberg has 1,372,209 or 29 percent.
Illinois, already a solidly Democratic state, could turn an even deeper shade of blue if Democratic volunteers excited by this year's election stick with the party and assist in future campaigns.
U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican, was clearly worried. He launched an "Obama Voters for Roskam" Web site that sought to persuade Obama supporters that they should cross party lines to support him, too.
But Roskam ended up winning handily, 57 percent to Democratic challenger Jill Morgenthaler's 43 percent.
In Chicago's northern suburbs, Democrat Dan Seals went to great lengths to link himself to Obama as he challenged four-term incumbent Mark Kirk. He ran ads mentioning Obama and sometimes combined voter outreach efforts with the presidential campaign.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Kirk had 55 percent of the vote to Seals' 45 percent.
In a district that stretches from Chicago's southern suburbs to Bloomington, Debbie Halvorson defeated Republican businessman Marty Ozinga take the seat now held by retiring Rep. Jerry Weller. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Halvorson had 58 percent and Ozinga had 35 percent. Green Party candidate Jason Wallace had 7 percent.
Halvorson was fighting public impatience with Springfield, where she is majority leader in the state Senate. While Democrats control the House and Senate and hold the governor's office, they have been able to accomplish little due to personality clashes and opposing priorities.
Democrat Bill Foster, elected in a special election earlier this year, again defeated Republican Jim Oberweis in a district once held by the Republican speaker of the U.S. House.
In the Legislature, Democrats already hold a "supermajority" in the Senate — meaning they have enough votes to pass special legislation and overturn vetoes without any help from Republicans.
The major question in this election is whether House Democrats will pick up the four seats they need to achieve their own supermajority. They appeared to be gaining seats but not necessarily a supermajority.
In two Senate battles — one in southern Illinois and the other in Chicago's far southern suburbs — the Democratic incumbents were neck and neck with their Republican challengers.
