turned philanthropist, Gil Cisneros, who was a registered Republican until 2008. Two years later he won $266 million in the state lottery. Experts differ on whether the two events are connected. While Young talks taxes and education, Cisneros talks Trump and immigration. Historically Asians, especially Young’s fellow Korean Americans, have taken a harder line on immigration than Hispanics, which may work to the benefit of Young, who stresses border security. Cisneros, like Trump, boasts that he’s not a politician, though he’s been delighted to accept cash and endorsements from the Democratic establishment, including President Obama, who starred in a boisterous Cisneros rally this summer. A poll in mid-September showed the race within the margin of error and most analysts rate it a toss-up. Even if Republican Kim wins, the longer-range question for the changing 39th is whether she’s the last of a dying breed. Illinois’ 6th District Trump lost the 6th District of Illinois, covering the west and northwest Chicago suburbs, by 10 points. Somehow the incumbent Republican congressman, Peter Roskam, won re-election by nearly 20. But the margin of Trump’s loss was enough to raise the hope of Democrats, who are now treating Roskam as one of their most vulnerable Republican targets. Analysts uniformly rate the race a toss-up. Roskam is a four-term veteran of Congress and one of the architects of Trump’s tax bill. His opponent, Sean Casten, a “green energy”
entrepreneur, has made opposition to the bill a centerpiece of his campaign. It’s probably good strategy in a high-tax state that may suffer under the bill’s change in state and local tax deductions. Casten has also made the mistake (for politicians, as for everyone) of using Twitter. Citing the need for civility in politics, the mild-mannered Roskam has happily quoted some of Casten’s intemperate emissions, comparing Trump to Osama bin Laden, for example, and the White House staff to Nazis. In the “Land of Lincoln” the party of Lincoln is a limp and ineffectual thing, but the Democratic majority in the state legislature isn’t much more popular. Roskam runs ads linking to Casten to Michael Madigan, the hugely unpopular speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, implying Casten will favor the same high- tax, low-service model of governance that has made Illinois a fiscal basket case. Casten counters with accusations of Republican fiscal irresponsibility in Washington. Both are right but only one can win. Going into October, polls showed the race too close to call.
Andrew Ferguson is the author of several books, including Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course on Getting His Kid Into College. He is a former speechwriter for President George H. W. Bush and a current senior editor at The Weekly Standard.
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