2000 Illinois's 1st congressional district election

District

Main article: Illinois's 1st congressional district

Illinois's 1st congressional district is a minority-majority district. At the time of the election, 65 percent of its constituents were African American. A strongly Democratic district, only twice since 1966 has a Republican candidate for United States Congress received over 20% of the vote.

Background

Rush was involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and a former member and founder of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. After coordinating a medical clinic that treated sickle cell anemia, Rush served as an alderman and was first elected to represent Illinois's 1st district in 1992. Rush ran for Mayor of Chicago against Richard M. Daley in 1999 and lost, receiving only 28% of the vote, making him appear electorally vulnerable.

Obama, at age 38, was a lecturer at the University of Chicago and a two-term state Senator. Though friends, including Terry Link, his colleague in the Illinois Senate, warned Obama against challenging Rush, as there was no obvious reason to displace him to the voters, Obama ran anyway because of his frustration with what he claimed was Republican obstructionism in the Illinois Legislature and the feeling Rush was representing the district less effectively than Obama could.

Obama's campaign

Obama entered the race in late September 1999, six months before the primary, stating that Rush represented "a politics that is rooted in the past, a reactive politics that isn’t good at coming up with concrete solutions." He promised to build consensus and lead coalitions involving people outside of the black community to reduce crime, improve health care coverage, promote economic development and expand educational opportunities.

Early polling showed Rush's name recognition started off at 90 percent, with Obama's at 11 percent. Rush had 70 percent approval, while Obama had 8 percent approval. In the head-to-head matchup, forty-seven percent of the people polled favored Rush, 10 percent favored Obama, and 5 percent supported Trotter, who is also African American. Most of Obama's support came from White Americans.

In mid-October, Rush's son, Huey, was murdered, leading Obama to put his campaign on hold.

As Obama lived in Hyde Park, a more affluent neighborhood with a higher percentage of White voters than the rest of the district, the narrative of the race became "the Black Panther against the professor." Trotter said, "Barack is viewed in part to be the white man in blackface in our community." many, including local officials, President Bill Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic Party nominee for President, endorsed Rush.

Obama raised enough money to remain competitive with Rush.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bobby Rush, incumbent U.S. Congressman
• Barack Obama, State Senator
• Donne Trotter, State Senator
• George Roby, police officer

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

• Raymond Wardingley, perennial candidate

Results

General election

Results

Aftermath

Obama later said about his loss to Rush "I got my rear end handed to me" Obama was seen as a stiff policy wonk, and he used the experience to hone his ability to connect with voters. According to Chicago City Council member Toni Preckwinkle, an early Obama supporter, Obama "took a hard look at himself after that campaign and became a much better campaigner, more at ease on the campaign trail." He put more effort into his campaign, hiring David Axelrod as his chief political strategist. Also, Obama increased his focus on the Illinois Senate, improving his legislative accomplishments.

In 2004, Obama was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention. After his speech, political pundits speculated about his future as a possible presidential candidate. After being elected to the United States Senate that year, and amid much speculation in the media regarding his future plans, Obama announced that he would seek the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination in February 2007 and went on to defeat fellow senator Hillary Clinton in one of the closest presidential nomination races in American history. He then defeated John McCain, also a senator, in the general election to become President of the United States. He was re-elected in 2012.

Bobby Rush served a total of thirty years in the House of Representatives, retiring in early 2023 after 15 terms.

Bibliography

References

References

1. (2003). "Congressional Districts in the 2000s: A Portrait of America". CQ Press.
2. (2005). "Guide to U.S. Elections". CQ Press.
3. Scott, Janny. (September 9, 2007). "In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama". [[The New York Times]].
4. (March 21, 2000). "Campaign Briefing". The New York Times.
5. "Ballots cast: Primary Election - 3/21/2000". Illinois State Board of Elections.
6. "Ballots cast: GENERAL ELECTION - 11/7/2000". Illinois State Board of Elections.
7. Wills, Christopher. (October 24, 2007). "Obama learned from failed Congress run". [[USA Today]].
8. Bernstein, David. (June 2007). "The Speech".
9. (August 2, 2004). "Star Power. Showtime: Some are on the rise; others have long been fixtures in the firmament. A galaxy of bright Democratic lights". Newsweek.
10. Pearson, Rick. (February 10, 2007). "Obama: I'm running for president". Chicago Tribune.
11. (February 10, 2007). "Obama Launches Presidential Bid". BBC News Online.
12. (June 5, 2008). "Clinton to End Bid and Endorse Obama". The New York Times.
13. (November 5, 2008). "Obama wins historic US election". BBC News Online.