Dold credits catchy ad and other strategies in House win

Throughout his campaign for Congress, Kenilworth Republican Robert Dold portrayed himself as cut from the same cloth as Mark Kirk, the man he was seeking to replace in the U.S. House.

Starting in 2000, Kirk won election to the 10th District seat five times by running as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. Dold adopted a similar public persona and stuck with it, even as more-conservative tea party groups and candidates gathered strength across the country.

It worked.

Dold edged out a victory over Democrat Dan Seals on Election Day, seizing about 51 percent of the vote.

The following morning, Dold celebrated his win by thanking voters and talking to the media at the busy Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. Kirk who had endorsed Dold was at his side, similarly celebrating his election to the U.S. Senate.

Dold was grateful for Kirk's approval and the support he received at the polls.

“The 10th District is looking for thoughtful, independent leadership,” Dold told the Daily Herald later in the day. “I am truly humbled by the sheer number of people (who supported me).”

With ballots in 509 of 511 precincts counted by Wednesday afternoon, Dold received 108,104 votes, unofficial totals showed. Seals lagged with 103,212. Votes in two Cook County precincts had not been counted as of Wednesday afternoon, nor had some early ballots or ballots sent by mail.

After refusing to do so Tuesday night, Seals finally conceded Wednesday morning.

“After this long journey, I wanted to make certain that every vote was counted,” Seals said in a statement e-mailed to the media. “Now that we have more information, it has become clear that we were not victorious.”

Seals, a Wilmette business consultant and university lecturer, is now 0-for-3 in congressional campaigns. He lost in 2006 and 2008 to Kirk.

He could not be reached for further comment. A campaign spokesman declined to say if he planned to run in 2012.

Because of his prior exposure, Seals started the race with much greater name recognition than Dold, a pest-control company executive who'd never run for office before.

“There's no question that Dan had about $8 million worth of name recognition between the 2006 and 2008 races, and that was an obstacle to overcome,” Dold said.

The GOP hopeful faced a seemingly endless wave of negative advertising as Election Day approached, too, with print, TV and radio ads attacking his stances on abortion, Social Security and other issues.

Although Dold and Republican-leaning groups put out their own anti-Seals pieces, some of Team Dold's ads took a different approach.

Using a catchy jingle written by one of Dold's former high-school classmates, the spots reminded voters that he was “Dold with a D, not an E,” a reference to former Republican U.S. Senator Robert Dole of Kansas.

Some people liked the ditty, Dold said. Others complained they couldn't get the tune out of their heads.

But it prompted many voters to go to Dold's website to learn more about the candidate.

“It was a different type of ad,” Dold said.

Additionally, in the campaign's final week, Dold toured the area in a specially decorated campaign bus, making stops and greeting potential voters across the sizable district.

He believes the tour made a difference.

“There's no question that we were able to reach tens of thousands of voters,” Dold said.

The 10th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. Seals won Lake County easily, but Dold's majority in Cook put him over the top.

The victory keeps the House seat in Republican hands for two more years. The GOP has held the post since 1980.

Dold hasn't been shy about the committee assignments he'd prefer in the House. He's eying three: energy and commerce committee; budget; and transportation and infrastructure.

The last one is particularly important to the Chicago area, Dold said, because of the region's significant rail traffic and public transportation systems.

In addition to Kirk, Dold received congratulatory calls from congressional leaders Wednesday. He also received many calls from supporters.

With the day full of media interviews, Dold planned to take his wife, Danielle, out for a celebratory dinner Wednesday night.

“Wherever she wants,” Dold said when asked about the destination.