2018 General Election Elected 65 – 35
Brad Schneider http://www.schneiderforcongress.com/ is the 7th closest Democratic winner of the 2016 election. We know that he is a target and that he could lose. In fact, he has lost before — in 2014 to the man he defeated in 2012 and 2016. That Republican will not be back, but the Republicans have already coalesced around a challenger.
This prosperous, suburban Chicago district includes well kept homes and the homes of Fortune 500 industries. Illinois 10 has been an expensive district to run in and will be expensive again in 2018. If Brad Schneider is going to stay in Congress, he will need to raise money as if he is running in a state-wide race. We have seen, in the special elections, Congressional campaigns that have raised 5 to 8 million dollars on each side; maybe even approaching 10 million dollars. In 2018, some of the Congressional campaigns will look like the most expensive 2017 Specials. The 10th Congressional District of Illinois will be one of those.
Brad Schnieder has been an engineer and a business consultant. After graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in industrial engineering, he worked on a kibbutz in Israel. He returned to Northwestern to get a degree from the School of Management. In his non-political life, he became the managing principal of an insurance firm, director of strategic services for a larger firm, and then an independent consultant. He prospered and is among the wealthiest ten percent of members of the House of Representatives.
A Democrat with business experience, he calls himself a progressive. He is pro-choice and supportive of same-sex marriage. He supported a $10.10 minimum wage and, as all Democrats have, the Affordable Care Act. He has identified climate change as a serious matter and has supported controls for carbon emissions. He is particularly focused on Israel. He was a member of AIPAC and urged covert actions against Iran as a way to prevent its development of nuclear weapons.
When asked, in his first run about the kind of Congressman he would be, Brad Schneider said he would look for good ideas from both parties and that he approaches issues with a “moderate tone.” A “moderate tone,” would be the appropriate descriptor for his life, not just his politics.
Schneider’s license plate — from well before he planned a political run — was TIKUN1, publicizing his Jewish commitment to repairing the world. His commitment to TIKUN was expressed through Jewish communal activities. He was active with the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and served on the board of the American Jewish Committee. For four years, he served as the chair of the Chicago Alliance of Latinos and Jews. He was a volunteer lobbyist with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
He had policy interests other than Israel. He was a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a board member of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest. He was a frequent consultant to former Democratic Representative, Melissa Bean, who lost in 2010 to the conservative and frequently offensive talk show host — Republican Joe Walsh. Bean went on to become president and CEO of the Executives’ Club of Chicago. Walsh lasted one term in Congress, but continues offending through his radio career. Schneider decided to run for Congress.
Brad Schneider’s 2012 campaign was the first of his contests with Bob Dold, of which Schneider won two out of three. Brad Schneider http://www.schneiderforcongress.com/will have a new opponent for 2018. He brings his own resources to the campaign as well as his many Chicago area contacts. Because this will be such an expensive campaign, he will need every bit of support that can be generated. He is defending a seat that has not been won by more than 2% in the last three elections. As with all elections as far away as November, 2018, monthly donations, even small ones, are particularly valuable.
In the election yesterday, May 25, Rob Quist appears to have lost the race for the only Congressional seat from Montana by 7 points. Nate Silver says: … we’re mostly looking at special elections in terms of how they might predict 2018. A night where Democrats are losing Montana by “only” 6 or 7 points is consistent with the sort of map you might see if Democrats were either taking over the House, or coming pretty close to it.
While there were actual wins for Democrats on Tuesday, May 23, most notably Christine Pellegrino’s 16 point win in Assembly District 9 on Long Island, New York — an area Trump had won by more than 20 points.
