Kirk edges Seals in tight 10th District contest

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk secured a fifth term in Congress Tuesday night after a close battle with Democratic opponent Dan Seals.

With eight Cook County precincts still not counted early Wednesday, Kirk had 52.5 percent of the vote (148,713 votes), while Seals had 47.5 percent (134,619 votes), according to unofficial totals. That figure includes early-voting ballots from the Lake County portion of the 10th Congressional District.

Kirk, a Highland Park Republican, greeted supporters at a rally in Wheeling to the sound of Journey's hit song "Don't Stop Believing."

"What a night, what a fight," he said.

Kirk pledged to work with the nation's new president.

"Yes, we will work with (President-elect Barack) Obama on a common agenda, but we'll be looking over his shoulder," he said.

Seals, a business consultant from Wilmette, had hoped to tie Kirk to President Bush in the Democratic-leaning district while grabbing a hold of Obama's coattails at the top of the ticket. Tuesday's battle was Seals' second attempt to unseat Kirk; he garnered 47 percent of the vote in 2006.

Seals said he got involved in politics after seeing President Bush win in 2000 and 2004.

"The good news is I don't regret a moment of it," he told supporters at his rally in Deerfield.

Kirk used his superior war chest, more than $5 million, to paint Seals as a naive tax hiker and position himself as a "thoughtful independent."

The heavily contested 10th District race was targeted by national Democrats and Republicans as a tossup. Democrats hoped to add the seat to their current majority while Republicans attempted to fend off the attack.

The race sparked millions of dollars in spending on TV ads and political mailers, which blanketed a district that runs along the shore of Lake Michigan from northwest Cook to northern Lake counties and as far west as Inverness.

While most Democrats across the state were hoping for a boost from Obama supporters, Seals was perhaps the most forward about the campaign strategy.

Seals' first broadcast ad went up on the night of Obama's acceptance speech in Denver, Colo. It featured his family watching the historic moment. Obama chose Seals as one of a handful of candidates he cut radio ads for in the final days of the campaign.

On policy, the candidates differed perhaps most significantly on the Iraq war (Seals wants a timeline for withdrawal, Kirk doesn't) and taxes (Seals wants to raise taxes on the highest earners, Kirk opposes that).