Special Elections Draw Attention to Control of Congress

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/28/special-elections-draw-attention-to-control-of-congress/

by Seth Michaels, Feb 28, 2008

Two special elections for crucial U.S. House seats are coming up, setting up a preview of this fall’s congressional elections.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwD0G7kEGQM

On March 8, an election will be held for the open 14th Congressional District in Illinois, and on March 11, a special election will be held in Indiana’s 7th Congressional District.

In Indiana’s 7th District, the Indiana State AFL-CIO has been active in support of city Councilor André Carson. A Democrat, Carson is running for the seat left vacant by the passing of his grandmother, Democratic Rep. Julia Carson. He faces off against Republican state Rep. Jon Elrod in the special election.

Last Saturday, Carson joined Indianapolis union members in a rally where he promised to fight for the issues that matter to working families. Carson pledged to support the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress. (Carson speaks about the Employee Free Choice Act and other important issues in this video.) After the rally, 85 union members took part in a neighborhood walk to let their fellow working families know about Carson and his commitments to the issues that matter.

In Illinois, the 14th District was left open by the departure of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who lost his position when the Republicans were defeated in the 2006 elections. The Illinois AFL-CIO has endorsed Democrat Bill Foster in this race. Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois federation, says Foster would offer the right policies on key issues like trade, housing, health care and retirement security, while his Republican opponent, Jim Oberweis, is the wrong choice for working families.

FULL story at link.