EAST MOLINE, IL--One of the most respected election handicappers in the business has upgraded the Illinois 17th District race to "Toss Up" from "Leans Democrat." The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and American political trends.
Two months ago, the Cook Political Report made its first change to the race, upgrading it to "Likely Democrat" from "Safe Democrat." Just a couple weeks ago, they made a second change from "Likely Democrat" to "Leans Democrat." Today they made a third change, upgrading the race to "Toss Up" from "Leans Democrat."
Bobby Schilling, Republican running for Congress in the Illinois 17th District, said the national pundits are finally figuring out what the people of this area have known for awhile: Rep. Hare is in trouble.
"The people of the 17th District are tired of poor representation in Washington," Schilling said. "In just four years, the unemployment rate has doubled and we've seen $5 trillion added to the national debt. Rep. Hare bears partial responsibility for that. He has voted for job killing measure after job killing measure. In addition to poor policy decisions, Rep. Hare is ranked 404th out of 435 members of Congress in terms of effectiveness. It's time for a clean break from the failure we've seen in Washington."
Cook Political Report is not alone. Real Clear Politics also recently upgraded the Illinois 17th District race to "Toss Up."
