Money pours in to Shimkus challenger
By Adam Jadhav
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Oct. 04 2006
COLLINSVILLE
When congressional challenger Dan Stover went to bed Sunday night, his online
fundraising account was barely over $1,000.
Less than 48 hours later, as national headlines screamed sex scandal in
Congress, that amount had more than quadrupled.
Granted, that seems like a paltry amount, considering Stover faces Rep. John
Shimkus, R-Collinsville, who sits on a $1.1 million war chest. But Stover and
his supporters call it a glimmer of hope in a race that political
prognosticators had all but written off.
It was the classic challenger's scenario: an upset believed possible only with
help of a scandal. Now Shimkus - the clean-shaven West Point grad, former Army
Ranger and high school teacher - risks being caught in the fallout from the
debacle surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who abruptly resigned last
week after he was confronted with salacious electronic messages he reportedly
sent to a teenage congressional page.
Shimkus chairs the minor House board that oversees the page program.
Whether the incident significantly hurts Republicans will depend on how it
unfolds, political scientists and operatives said. But it has already breathed
life into the campaigns of some Democrats around the state and nation - Stover
in particular.
Realistically, Stover is fighting a lopsided battle, financially outgunned
almost 20-1 at midyear. A soft-spoken academic, college teacher and City
Council member from Centralia, Stover primarily hopes the scandal draws major
campaign contributions to help even the odds.
Shimkus has said that in 2005, he investigated a number of suspicious but not
sexual e-mails that Foley sent that year to a 16-year-old page. He confronted
Foley, ordered him to stop and let the matter go. In the process, he never
alerted the one Democratic member of the board.
Little else came of it until Friday, when Foley resigned amid media reports
detailing overtly sexual comments and queries in so-called instant messages -
online, one-on-one chats - that Foley had with a different boy page in 2003.
Democrats and Republicans alike are crying foul, wondering how it could happen.
Criminal and congressional investigations are under way.
"It so obviously looks like a cover-up," Stover said at a fundraiser Tuesday in
Collinsville. Awkward in front of cameras at news conference earlier in the
week, Stover stood more at ease, chatting with supporters on the patio of a
Mexican restaurant.
"I think it's indicative of (Republicans') arrogance," Stover said. "They no
longer feel responsible to voters."
Shimkus has said he knew only of the 2005 e-mails, and while they seemed odd,
they weren't cause for an inquisition. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert,
also an Illinois Republican, has said - in spite of contrary claims from other
GOP representatives - that he didn't know of any concerns about Foley until
Friday's revelation.
Shimkus was unavailable for comment Tuesday, despite attempts to reach him at
his home, his office and on the road. His staff reiterated his previous
statements and dismissed the possibility of political side-effects.
But Shimkus does face a potential loss if social conservative voters, disgusted
by a teenage sex scandal, simply stay at home, said political strategist Joe
Gaylord, a key adviser to Newt Gingrich in 1994 when Gingrich engineered a huge
swing in favor of Republicans in congressional races.
"I know that it is very difficult to turn out angry voters in your favor,"
Gaylord said.
But Gaylord and others question whether Democrats can take advantage.
State Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Carlyle, by Sunday had called on his challenger,
John Cavaletto, to essentially renounce Shimkus' endorsement of Cavaletto's
campaign.
State Democratic leaders said they'll wait and see how the scandal plays out,
according to party spokesman Steve Brown.
"We expect more of janitors and bus drivers and school playground monitors, let
alone a congressman," Brown said. "I hope (Shimkus) comes forward and answers
some questions."
At the national level, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, chaired
by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, could pony up advice, staff and press
releases. And it could convince politically affluent Democrats to donate or
raise money on Stover's behalf.
"We're keeping a close eye on the district," said committee spokeswoman Sarah
Feinberg. "This shows what we've been talking about all along - the Republicans
have been more concerned about their power and their politics."
Stover admits such support is a big "what-if." For now, he said, he's at least
generating more interest. Phone calls have poured in, and his campaign website
- www.stoverforcongress.com - has seen more traffic in the last two days than
it had all year.
"What we need is money," said Pam Gronemeyer, president of Downstate Democrats
for Change, a group that is backing Stover. "We can make a real race out of
this."
...
By Adam Jadhav
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Oct. 04 2006
COLLINSVILLE
When congressional challenger Dan Stover went to bed Sunday night, his online
fundraising account was barely over $1,000.
Less than 48 hours later, as national headlines screamed sex scandal in
Congress, that amount had more than quadrupled.
Granted, that seems like a paltry amount, considering Stover faces Rep. John
Shimkus, R-Collinsville, who sits on a $1.1 million war chest. But Stover and
his supporters call it a glimmer of hope in a race that political
prognosticators had all but written off.
It was the classic challenger's scenario: an upset believed possible only with
help of a scandal. Now Shimkus - the clean-shaven West Point grad, former Army
Ranger and high school teacher - risks being caught in the fallout from the
debacle surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who abruptly resigned last
week after he was confronted with salacious electronic messages he reportedly
sent to a teenage congressional page.
Shimkus chairs the minor House board that oversees the page program.
Whether the incident significantly hurts Republicans will depend on how it
unfolds, political scientists and operatives said. But it has already breathed
life into the campaigns of some Democrats around the state and nation - Stover
in particular.
Realistically, Stover is fighting a lopsided battle, financially outgunned
almost 20-1 at midyear. A soft-spoken academic, college teacher and City
Council member from Centralia, Stover primarily hopes the scandal draws major
campaign contributions to help even the odds.
Shimkus has said that in 2005, he investigated a number of suspicious but not
sexual e-mails that Foley sent that year to a 16-year-old page. He confronted
Foley, ordered him to stop and let the matter go. In the process, he never
alerted the one Democratic member of the board.
Little else came of it until Friday, when Foley resigned amid media reports
detailing overtly sexual comments and queries in so-called instant messages -
online, one-on-one chats - that Foley had with a different boy page in 2003.
Democrats and Republicans alike are crying foul, wondering how it could happen.
Criminal and congressional investigations are under way.
"It so obviously looks like a cover-up," Stover said at a fundraiser Tuesday in
Collinsville. Awkward in front of cameras at news conference earlier in the
week, Stover stood more at ease, chatting with supporters on the patio of a
Mexican restaurant.
"I think it's indicative of (Republicans') arrogance," Stover said. "They no
longer feel responsible to voters."
Shimkus has said he knew only of the 2005 e-mails, and while they seemed odd,
they weren't cause for an inquisition. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert,
also an Illinois Republican, has said - in spite of contrary claims from other
GOP representatives - that he didn't know of any concerns about Foley until
Friday's revelation.
Shimkus was unavailable for comment Tuesday, despite attempts to reach him at
his home, his office and on the road. His staff reiterated his previous
statements and dismissed the possibility of political side-effects.
But Shimkus does face a potential loss if social conservative voters, disgusted
by a teenage sex scandal, simply stay at home, said political strategist Joe
Gaylord, a key adviser to Newt Gingrich in 1994 when Gingrich engineered a huge
swing in favor of Republicans in congressional races.
"I know that it is very difficult to turn out angry voters in your favor,"
Gaylord said.
But Gaylord and others question whether Democrats can take advantage.
State Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Carlyle, by Sunday had called on his challenger,
John Cavaletto, to essentially renounce Shimkus' endorsement of Cavaletto's
campaign.
State Democratic leaders said they'll wait and see how the scandal plays out,
according to party spokesman Steve Brown.
"We expect more of janitors and bus drivers and school playground monitors, let
alone a congressman," Brown said. "I hope (Shimkus) comes forward and answers
some questions."
At the national level, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, chaired
by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, could pony up advice, staff and press
releases. And it could convince politically affluent Democrats to donate or
raise money on Stover's behalf.
"We're keeping a close eye on the district," said committee spokeswoman Sarah
Feinberg. "This shows what we've been talking about all along - the Republicans
have been more concerned about their power and their politics."
Stover admits such support is a big "what-if." For now, he said, he's at least
generating more interest. Phone calls have poured in, and his campaign website
- www.stoverforcongress.com - has seen more traffic in the last two days than
it had all year.
"What we need is money," said Pam Gronemeyer, president of Downstate Democrats
for Change, a group that is backing Stover. "We can make a real race out of
this."
...
