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Illinois a battleground for US Congress races

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[February 27, 2012]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Less than two years after a tea-party backed surge helped give Republicans a majority in Illinois' congressional delegation, their jubilant gains are being jeopardized by a map.

HardwareOne freshman Republican congressman has had to challenge a veteran GOP colleague in territory he doesn't know. Other Republicans are scrambling to introduce themselves to unfamiliar voters in their own districts, now redrawn by Democrats to favor Democrats.

Amid partisan bickering from Washington to Springfield, Democrats and Republicans can wholeheartedly agree on one thing: Illinois' March 20 primary election may be critical this year as Democrats set out to reverse the GOP's 2010 victories as part of an effort to win back an overall majority in the U.S. House.

Democrats have called Illinois a "center of gravity" for their national congressional campaign, based on high hopes for the new congressional map that Democratic leaders drew up last year because they control the Legislature. But Republicans contend that more areas of Illinois are trending conservative, and they believe they can at least pick up one seat left open by retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Costello in southern Illinois.

Voters get their first chance to weigh in Monday, when early voting begins for the primary election, which will set the stage for a November showdown.

"Illinois offers one of the most dramatic playing fields," said Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who oversees the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He says the group has had a presence in Illinois -- coaching candidates and purchasing billboards -- for months, the earliest it's been in the state before a primary.

Come November, Illinois could provide up to five new Democratic seats when 25 are needed to take the majority, Israel said. Only California comes close to offering the same opportunity, he said.

But Republicans are ceding nothing. They believe they still have momentum from the 2010 victories that put five GOP freshmen in office and gave them their first state congressional majority in seven years. And they believe another factor will help them when voters go to the polls: anger over Illinois' state fiscal crisis.

"The state is in just bad shape and the Democrats are in charge," said Pat Brady, chairman of Illinois' Republican Party.

Mike Shields, political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, downplayed any advantage the Democrats might have from what he called their gerrymandering.

"We plan on being very aggressive. We plan on being on offense," Shields said.

Republicans will lose one seat in Illinois for sure. The new Democrat-drawn map carves the state into 18 congressional districts, down one from 19 because census data showed Illinois didn't grow as fast as other states.

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The two Republicans running against each other are freshman U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger and veteran congressman Donald Manzullo. Both are touting their opposition to President Barack Obama's policies and efforts to cut spending in a district that Manzullo has served for nearly two decades. It now curves through the north-central part of the state, touching both Wisconsin and Indiana.

Kinzinger decided to challenge Manzullo after his own district was pushed together with more Democrat-friendly territory in a new district where U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson faces a Democratic challenge in March, for the first time, from former one-term congresswoman Debbie Halvorson. Kinzinger, a former Air Force pilot, defeated Halvorson with tea party support in 2010.

On the national watch lists of both Democrats and Republicans is a race in Chicago's northwest suburbs, where Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth and businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi are facing off in the Democratic primary. The winner will challenge tea party-backed congressman Joe Walsh, who decided to stay in his old district despite its new Democrat leanings rather than mount a primary fight against another freshman GOP incumbent in a different district.

Other incumbent Republican districts both parties are focusing on for the fall are those of U.S. Reps. Bob Dold and Bobby Schilling, both freshmen, and U.S. Reps. Judy Biggert and Tim Johnson.

Johnson's re-election effort -- he took office in 2001 and is known for calling constituents directly -- could be a clear indicator of the atmosphere in Illinois. He is now running in a district that covers a wider section of central Illinois to the Missouri line. He has Republican primary challengers for the first time in a decade, and two Democrats are running for the chance to challenge him, including Greene County State's Attorney Matt Goetten, who has received backing from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

"If the economy continues to improve, that will be good for the president and good for (Democratic) candidates for Congress," said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a Chicago Democrat who faces no opposition next month. "It's ripe for Illinois to pick up Democratic seats."

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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