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That was a 3-way primary race. Correct, it was all about Dixon's vote for Clarence Thomas, but Moseley-Braun was more or less the beneficiary of Al Hofeld's big spending to knock Dixon out. He was wealthy and ran constant ads mocking "Al the Pal" Dixon. Hofeld only received something like 20%, but no way Moseley-Braun wins the primary if Hofeld is not in it. She beat Dixon by 2 or 3 percent, winning big in Chicago and among the women's vote while Dixon and Hofeld carved up the male vote and the numbers in the southern part of the state.
Not sure it worked out in our favor. Fitgerald defeated Moseley-Braun in '98 more or less due to forfeit on Moseley-Braun's part, all the ethics questiuons. If we had that seat from '98 to '04 the senate dynamics would have been different. For instance, we would have had the edge 51-49 in 2001, even before Jeffords switched to independent.
One thing about Al Dixon; he gave a gracious concession speech, with a theme in complete contrast to Lieberman: "I spent a lifetime in Democratic politics, and I spent that lifetime in Democratic politics playing by the rules. . . . And I said in this primary campaign that I would support the winner, that I would endorse the winner, and that I would vote for the winner. . . . I accept that result just as fully as I accepted 29 good results for Alan Dixon in the past." (From a 3/18/1992 Chicago Tribune story.)
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