Weekly Update (2/1/08)

Democratic Primaries in Illinois Tuesday; Last Chance to Help
In a few short days voters in Illinois will be going to the polls, not just to vote in the presidential primary, but in the Congressional primary as well. DAPAC has endorsed two candidates who will be facing tough opposition in these extremely early Congressional primaries.

The first is John Laesch, running for Dennis Hastert's former seat. Laesch was a 2006 DAPAC candidate running in Illinois' 14th district. He had a tough race, as he was running against former Speaker Dennis Hastert, but still made an impressive showing, winning 40% of the vote. Hastert recently retired, and Laesch is running an aggressive campaign for this open seat. Laesch is facing a wealthy Democratic opponent who has poured tons of his own money into the campaign. In 2006, 28 candidates put over one million dollars of their own money into their campaigns; of those only four went on to win the election. Help support Laesch in his proven grassroots efforts and as the candidate who truly speaks for the people. In addition, Laesch's opponent supports a preemptive war with Iran and national ID cards, both of which Laesch is strongly against. In addition, remember that for every dollar you contribute directly to us, we will help candidates raise 12 dollars more. Therefore, It is best to contribute both directly to us and to the candidate, please visit our website at www.dapac.org. For more information about Laesch, and a quick and easy way to contribute to his campaign, please visit his website at www.john08.com.

The second candidate is Jay Footlik, running in Illinois' 10th Congressional district. Footlik will be facing tough opposition in his Democratic primary from a more conservative candidate. It is crucial that Footlik wins his primary, so he will be the Democratic challenger in the general election. The seat is currently held by Mark Kirk, a Republican who has tried to portray himself as a moderate, while really rubber stamping Bush's policies. In the last two presidential elections, the 10th district voted Democratic, and this cycle a Democrat should take Kirk's place and bring progressive leadership to the district. For more information about Footlik, and a quick and easy way to contribute to his campaign, please visit his website at www.jayfootlik.com.

Both Footlik and Laesch are truly progressive candidates, supporting all of the issues we at DAPAC champion, such as being 100% pro-choice, supporting same-sex marriage, taking immediate steps to end the war in Iraq, supporting publicly funded universal healthcare, and many others. They have pledged to vote for these issues once in Congress. Both of these candidates are facing tough opposition and need your help today!