Ethan Hastert, the 31-year old son of former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) has announced that he is running for his father’s old seat in Congress — which the Democrats picked up in a stunning special election victory in March 2008, despite it having been a Republican bastion for decades before that.
Hastert the Younger appears to be pitching himself as a new face in politics: “Quite frankly, people are ready for the next generation of leadership.”
Hastert the Elder resigned from Congress about a year after the Democrats won control. In the special election, Democratic businessman Bill Foster defeated GOP businessman Jim Oberweis by five points, even though the district had been carried by George W. Bush in 2004 by a 55%-44% margin. Then in the 2008 general election, Illinois favorite son Barack Obama carried the district 55%-44%, and Foster defeated Oberweis again by an increased majority of 15 points.
(Via Taegan Goddard.)
