Biden plans to show in suburbs for Schneider
Vice President Joe Biden is set to join the parade of national Democrats flooding Illinois to help the party's candidates when he stumps for U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider in the suburbs next week.
Schneider is facing a tough rematch challenge against Republican Bob Dold in the North suburban 10th District. The race has become one of the most hotly contested in the country.
Schneider spokeswoman Staci McCabe said it isn't clear yet where the Oct. 22 Biden visit will be, but she said it will be in the 10th District and also will be in support of Gov. Pat Quinn's and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's campaigns.
Meanwhile, Dold released a new ad featuring U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, a Highland Park Republican who held the seat in Congress before Dold and Schneider.
"We make a great team," Kirk says of Dold in the ad.
Schneider has worked in the campaign to emphasize issues he thinks appeal to Democrats while Dold is trying to cast a more centrist image to regain the seat in Congress he held from 2010 to 2012.
President Barack Obama is supposed to return to Chicago raising money for Democrats, too. He and first lady Michelle Obama have made trips to boost Quinn already this month.
Quinn is trying to generate excitement among Illinois Democrats at a time when Republican gubernatorial challenger Bruce Rauner has been credited for doing the same among Republicans for months already. The GOP points to the arrival of Democratic heavy-hitters as a sign of the party's desperation in Illinois.