Hastert: Nasty Primary Will Lead To Democratic Win

Nancy Harty Reporting

CHICAGO -- Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert blames a 'nasty primary' for paving the way for a democrat to win his old seat in Congress for the first time in two decades.

Speaking after a speech before the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hastert told reporters the 14th district race parallels the presidential election in some respects.

He says democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are beating up each other in much the same way that Republicans Chris Lauzen and Jim Oberweis did.

Hastert says the span between the primary and the special election was not enough time for republican voters to recover and get behind the party's candidate, Jim Oberweis - whom Hastert endorsed.

He says while many republicans didn't turn out at the polls, a lot of democrats were energized by Barack Obama's presidential bid.

That enthusiasm carries a challenge with it, according to Hastert.

He says if Clinton wins the nomination, the democratic party will have to figure out how to move ahead without disenfranchising those new voters who were drawn to Obama.

When asked if Oberweis should step down and let some new blood take on democrat Bill Foster in the November election, Hastert said that's up to Oberweis to decide along with how he may retool his campaign.

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