As our political director, Jonathan, mentioned earlier, today is primary day is Illinois. There are a number of EMILY's List candidates on the ballot, including state Rep. Julie Hamos, who's running an extremely tight race in IL-10.
Today is primary election day in Illinois, and we've got a number of great candidates on the ballot. One of them is state Representative Julie Hamos, who appears to be in a nail-biter of a race to the finish in the Democratic contest for the open U.S. House seat in IL-10. This race is critical because it truly represents one of the best opportunities in the country for Democrats to pick up a Republican seat. Julie is the best candidate to do just that.
Julie has run a terrific race from start to finish. In an ordinary circumstance, she would be headed for a sure win. But two factors have made this race a toss-up: 1. the incredibly early primary date that shortened the campaign calendar, and 2. the very expensive Chicago media market (one of the largest media markets in the country) that made it difficult to effectively communicate with voters. Nonetheless, Julie is poised to win this race today. If you're an Illinois resident, remember to get out and vote today! You can find your polling location here.
If you don't live in Illinois, you can still help by making contributions here.
Last-minute attacks in the IL-10 primary race show exactly how tight next Tuesday's vote is going to be.
EMILY's List candidate Julie Hamos is being targeted by her opponent, Dan Seals, with a negative mailing to the district's voters distorting her record.
Seals, who has run for this seat twice before and lost both times in the general election, is focusing his efforts on a negative politics-as-usual style campaign just days before the Feb. 2 primary.
Julie's running a stellar campaign, and she's been endorsed by top Democratic leaders, along with the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and labor unions. There's no doubt Julie's momentum is what's fueling Seals' attacks in the campaign's final days. But outrageous tactics like this have worked before, and Seals has strong name recognition in a district that's used to seeing him run for office.
Julie Hamos has the endorsements, legislative know-how, and top-notch campaign staff to pull off a win just eight days from today -- but this highly-watched primary will come down to every last vote.
Running in Illinois's 10th congressional district, Julie is the best candidate to win his GOP-held seat for Democrats in November. With the backing of the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, Julie has certainly been getting good press in recent weeks. Julie's primary opponent has run for this same seat twice and lost in the general election both times. And, although Julie is working hard to mobilize her supporters and put this seat in the Democratic column, we know voter turnout will decide this race. Ads in the Chicago media market don't come cheap, and Julie's final outreach to voters will be critical on the airwaves.
Only days after landing the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune, IL-10 candidate Julie Hamos has picked up another important newspaper endorsement, this time from the Chicago Sun-Times.
Calling their pick of Hamos in the Feb. 2 primary an "easy call," the Sun-Times said Hamos has "more than earned your vote" with her experience and leadership.
Here's what they had to say:
Hamos' qualifications are excellent. In an Illinois House controlled by one man -- Speaker Mike Madigan -- she has been an impressively independent and yet effective legislator since arriving in Springfield in 1998.
Two years ago, she was the brains and energy behind a successful scheme to fund the Chicago area transit system to keep the buses and trains moving. She pioneered electronic health records as state policy. She passed legislation to create a statewide energy-efficient building code, even getting homebuilder groups on board. She has been a leader in efforts to keep dangerous invasive species, such as Asian carp, from entering the Great Lakes.
Hamos has experience on Capitol Hill. She was a staff attorney for a House Ways and Means subcommittee. A lawyer, she worked for the Cook County state's attorney's office for most of the 1980s.
Hamos came to the United States as a refugee. Her family escaped from Hungary in the dead of night during the 1956 Revolution. It is that experience, she says, that instilled in her the "courage to fight for principles and a commitment to democracy and opportunity in America."
Huge news from Julie Hamos's campaign today! Julie, who's running to fill the open seat in IL-10, landed the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune, a major demonstration of her campaign's strength in the final two weeks before the Feb. 2 primary election. As the Tribune noted, this is the only House race in the state without an incumbent on the ballot, making it a top opportunity for a Democratic takeover.
Here's what they had to say about Julie in their endorsement:
"Our endorsement goes to state Rep. Julie Hamos of Wilmette. She has a fine record on ethics reform, domestic violence laws and early childhood education. She patiently and quite skillfully engineered new law that shored up the finances and instituted critical pension reforms for Chicago-area mass transit."
Julie has run a stellar campaign from day one -- building on her strong record of service, reaching out to constituents across the district, and earning endorsements from unions, her colleagues in the state legislature, and top political leaders in the state.
The Tribune endorsement shows exactly how much momentum Julie's campaign has -- and it means our support will be more critical than ever in helping her keep up this pace through the primary.
The good news just keeps coming in IL-10, where EMILY's List candidate Julie Hamos received the endorsement of the Sierra Club yesterday. Hamos has racked up major endorsements from her fellow state legislators, members of Congress, and unions including AFSCME and the Chicago Teamsters.
In announcing its support, the Sierra Club noted Julie's long history of fighting for the environment, leading the way on issues like improving building codes, protecting natural resources, and promoting green technology.
"Julie Hamos is one of the strongest environmental champions in Illinois government, and we are proud to recommend her to Democratic primary voters in the 10th District who want to move to a clean energy economy, and protect Lake Michigan," said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter. "Illinois is a cleaner, healthier, greener place to live thanks to Julie Hamos' leadership, and we need that type of leader now more than ever in Congress, with the fate of the planet in the balance."
With less than three weeks until the February 2 primary election, endorsements like this one will help show the voters exactly what kind of progressive leader Julie will be in Congress.
The Chicago Teamsters announced their support of EMILY's List candidate Julie Hamos today, showing important momentum for Hamos' campaign just weeks before the Feb. 2 primary.
Here's a note from their endorsement:
"The Teamsters endorse Julie Hamos because she knows a strong workforce is the backbone of a strong economy,” said John T. Coli, President of Joint Council 25. “With Julie in Congress, we will have an advocate for issues important to working families, such as creating new jobs, improving transportation infrastructure and bettering the lives of residents of the 10th District."
This race is one of the country's top take-back opportunities for Democrats, and Julie is just the candidate to put this seat in the Democratic column.
Congressional candidate Julie Hamos (IL-10) landed a huge endorsement from AFSCME yesterday. With over 100,000 members, AFSCME is one of the state's major labor unions.
Read some of the great things they had to say about Julie in their statement today:
"Julie Hamos is a serious and thoughtful legislator with a long record of taking on tough issues and finding common-sense solutions to complex problems... She will be a voice for working families who need more representation in Congress, not the corporations and powerful special interests that too often dominate the debate.”
With a tough primary around the corner, this endorsement signals critical support for Julie's campaign. Congratulations, Julie!
We’ve bragged about Julie Hamos before—and really, how can we not? She’s been a strong progressive voice in the Illinois state legislature for over 10 years and has won dozens of awards for her work on women’s issues, the environment, and health care.
Now we have a few more reasons to be proud of her. Lately, Julie has been racking up key endorsements in her race for Illinois' tenth congressional district, including the Teamsters' backing today. Here's a note from their ringing endorsement:
“With Julie in Congress, we will have an advocate for issues important to working families, such as creating new jobs, improving transportation infrastructure and bettering the lives of residents of the 10th District.”
And earlier this week Julie was endorsed by the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI), a union with 619 members in Illinois’ 10th congressional district and over 14,500 fire fighters statewide.
In his endorsement, AFFI executive board president Pat Devaney said, "As fire fighters, we value leaders who stand up for what's right and aren't afraid to take on challenges. We proudly stand with Julie Hamos because she has experience and knows how to get things done."
These latest endorsements are part of a growing list of Julie's supporters, which also includes NOW, UAW, and EMILY's List alum Cong. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09). With an early February primary, there's no doubt Julie is building the momentum that will be critical to a win in one of the country's top take-back opportunities for Democrats.
We wanted you to see the latest ad from Julie Hamos. Julie is running for the open seat in IL-10. Just like her ad says, we think Julie is the right person to bring the change we need to Congress.
We wanted you to see the latest video from Julie Hamos' campaign on health care and the public option. Julie is running for the open seat in IL-10, one of the highest profile Democratic take back opportunities in the 2010 cycle.
Julie will face fellow Democrat Dan Seals in the primary. Three Republicans, all named to the NRCC's "Young Guns" program, are vying for the GOP nomination.
We're almost at the one-year mark for 2010 elections, and you can feel races starting to heat up. Around here, that means keeping a close eye on some of the most highly anticipated races in the country. A number of impressive women candidates have the press and the pundits talking, and we want to make sure you know about the latest House buzz:
Ann McLane Kuster, NH-02
The Nashua Telegraph recently reported that "Democratic congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster is on a roll." And NH Political Report has had similar words of praise, saying she's proving herself in this campaign and giving her two "up arrows" in a row. Not a bad beginning for this up-and-comer running for a critical open seat.
Julie Hamos, IL-10
EMILY's List candidate Julie Hamos has had "a strong early showing as she prepares for a tough primary against Democrat Dan Seals," according to Politico. They went on to say Hamos will "need every bit of it to compete in a suburban Chicago seat where advertising is expensive."
Tarryl Clark, MN-06
The Minnesota Independent had plenty of good things to say about House candidate Tarryl Clark. "Tarryl Clark has been rolling up endorsements from labor unions all week. The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union’s state council and the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council all announced that they’ll be backing the state senator in her campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann."
It’s always nice to brag about our candidates, and honestly, it’s easy to do when they’re making change in their communities.
EMILY’s List congressional candidate state Rep. Julie Hamos (IL-10) will be honored tonight at the Illinois Environmental Council’s annual dinner, receiving the Environmental Leadership Award. The award goes to “an outstanding legislator who is a champion for environmental best practices.”
That sure sounds like Julie! Since becoming a state legislator, she has been an active member of the Legislative Environmental Caucus. Julie is a leader in the fight for energy efficiency, working tirelessly to find ways to reduce both energy use and cost. With the passage of groundbreaking legislation in 2004 that established a statewide energy efficient building code and its expansion 2009, it looks as though her efforts are paying off!
Is it too much to say her opponents must be green with envy? We don’t think so.
Exciting news! We just endorsed Julie Hamos in the race to replace GOP Congressman Mark Kirk in Illinois' 10th congressional district. Julie is a five-term state representative who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of women and children -- and we couldn't be more thrilled that she's jumped into this hot open seat race.
From EMILY's List President Ellen R. Malcolm's statement:
As an attorney, co-founder of the Illinois Coalition against Domestic Violence, and a five-term state representative from Chicago's northeast suburbs, Julie's record of advocating for Illinois women and families is second to none. We need her in Congress to continue that fight.
Julie has a well-earned reputation as a legislative work-horse. She's been named a "top legislator" by more than 25 organizations across Illinois, founded and chaired the Illinois House Mass Transit Committee, and has forged legislation to make buildings more energy efficient, promote electronic health records and to establish affordable housing. She's also been a passionate advocate for women's rights and the right to choose. Julie's race is a great opportunity to add another pro-choice Democratic woman to the Congress.
Julie Hamos is in the race for the open seat in IL-10. Hamos, who has served as a state representative since 1998, was surrounded by "enthusiastic supporters" and "an impressive array of fellow legislators" when she made her announcement, according to the Evanston Review. Hamos is seeking the seat vacated by Rep. Mark Kirk (R), who in July announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate in 2010.
During her career, Hamos has led efforts to combat domestic violence, support local food providers, and address community transportation issues.
More from her announcement:
"I would be proud to support the president's reform agenda in Washington. Today, Congress is tackling health reform. If I were in Congress right now I would be supporting President Obama's initiative rather than stalling it as (Republican 10th District U.S. Rep.) Mark Kirk has done," she said to cheers from the audience.
Progress Illinoisreports that Hamos also cited impressive early fundraising numbers, saying her team is "building a great base of support in the 10th District already."
As one of the top take-back opportunities in the country, the showdown in IL-10 will be a race to watch. We'll keep you updated as more develops.
Only days after landing the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune, IL-10 candidate 
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