The ballots are finally all counted for the race for the 8th Congressional District in Illinois. Congratulations goes to Republican Joe Walsh who beat incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean by a scant 290 votes.
The vote tally has yet to be 100 percent certified, but it looks like Walsh is the winner.
This is quite a pickup for the GOP, too. Not only did party wonks assume that Walsh never had a chance to win this race and therefore didn’t give Walsh much help, the other side was so sure that Bean was a shoo in to be returned to Congress that they didn’t spend much money on her race either.
This one is a shock to just about everyone. One suspects even Walsh is surprised.
So, congrats to Congressman elect Joe Walsh, 8th District.
Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as Breitbart.com, among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.
