I've never voted for a Democratic U.S. House candidate who won (until today, I hope)
Other than the two or three years after I was born and a year or so in college, I've never lived in a district represented by a democrat. Along the way, I've had the misfortune of being represented by some rather bad congressmen. We're talking Dick Cheney and J.C. Watts bad.
Don't get me wrong--it hasn't been all bad. I've had some good state senators and representatives over the years, and one of the great things about living in a red state is that when you get a good guy into an important state office, like we did electing Brad Henry governor of Oklahoma in 2002, the victory is all the sweeter. And since moving to Illinois, I've had a couple of senators I could be proud of .
But this year, with the retirement of Tim Johnson, is the first year I've had the chance to vote for a democrat who might actually win. David Gill (who lost to Johnson a few times previously) is running against Rodney Davis. It's been clear from the tone and distortions of the republican attack ads that they think Gill has a great chance to win, and the most recent polls I've seen look good. Gill's polls have him up beyond the margin of error, and Davis's polls show Davis up, but within the margin of error.
So keep your fingers crossed for David Gill, DU!