Defeated GOP candidates back by conservative group 'aren't going away'
With the exception of a Kane County Board challenger who upset a longtime politician, the local candidates backed by the conservative Family Taxpayers Network failed to win the GOP nomination in their respective races Tuesday.
Through Family Taxpayers network and the business he founded, Carpentersville-based Otto Engineering, Barrington resident Jack Roeser funneled more than $72,000 into the failed campaigns of congressional candidate Chris Lauzen, Kane County Board Chairman challenger Jim MacRunnels and state representative hopefuls Jim Krenz and Terry Hunt.
But Drew Frasz, who received $5,000 from FTN, ousted Kane County Board member Jan Carlson in the 26th District. No Democratic candidate has filed for the seat, which represents parts of Elburn, LaFox, Big Rock and Sugar Grove.
All but Lauzen counted Roeser, FTN and Otto as the biggest donors to their campaigns. Lauzen was a candidate for federal office, which caps individual contributions at $2,300.
Roeser, along with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, donated the maximum amount to Lauzen's campaign. Lauzen lost to Jim Oberweis, who got 56 percent of the vote.
Tuesday's results leave Roeser disappointed but undaunted. FTN has been backing conservative candidates and a pro-life and anti-gun control agenda for nearly 20 years.
"I think MacRunnels and Krenz, they aren't going to run away," Roeser said this week. "We're disappointed that MacRunnels didn't win for a lot of reasons. But trying to win in something as big as a county when you've got a lot of people to reach is difficult. … I'm surprised Krenz didn't win because he ran a very good campaign."
MacRunnels got $10,000 from FTN and another $10,000 from Otto Engineering, the company Roeser founded and chairs. MacRunnels lost to incumbent Karen McConnaughay, who earned two-thirds of the vote.
Krenz received $45,287 from a combination of Roeser, FTN and Otto. He lost to incumbent Tim Schmitz, who earned 62 percent of the vote.
Hunt got $5,000 from FTN. He came in third place in the four-way race; Kay Hatcher won with 49 percent of the vote.