Will Redistricting End Bob Dold's Short, Shameful Stay In Congress?

In 2000 Gore took IL-10 with 51%. Four years later Kerry beat George Bush 53-47%. And in 2010 Obama crushed John McCain 61-38%. But each year the Chicagoland North Shore district elected mainstream conservative, Mark Kirk over a conservative-leaning Democrat. Last year, Kirk jumped to the Senate and a carbon-copy conservative, Bob Dold, beat another me-too-conservative Democrat, Dan Seals (51-49%), Dold winning in GOP-leaning Cook County suburbs, Seals taking the bluer Lake County portions of the district.

There are several factors that make 2012 very different from previous years. First and foremost, the Democrat running against Dold will be a genuine progressive, Ilya Sheyman. A former Field Director for Democracy for America and, more recently, National Mobilization Director at MoveOn, Ilya understands what bold politics is all about and how to make it work. Last year was a Republican wave election and even GOP dreck, like Dold, managed to be swept into office. Next year is shaping up to be another wave election, one that will re-balance Congress... and get rid of accidental Members like Dold. Yes, and Dold voted to turn Medicare into an unsustainable voucher system that would destroy the retirement of working families and was one of the first GOP shills to be called on the carpet by his constituents for his lockstep record on the right-wing social engineering agenda..

And as if this weren't enough to doom his prospects for a career in Congress, redistricting doesn't look to be going his way. IL-10 is likely to look a lot bluer next year. One of the changes in the redistricting is that the neighboring 9th CD, represented by Jan Schakowsky, is set to incorporate Republican-leaning areas of the 10th, such as Wilmette, Northbrook, and Kenilworth (Dold’s home).

Dold’s district would get more Democratic by adding on more heavily Democratic territory in Lake County, such as Mundelein and some of the Lakes. Dold would also lose his Republican-leaning portion of Palatine, making his reelection efforts much dicier.

Today might be an especially good time to contribute to Ilya's campaign.