Where are they now? A look at Election Day's runners-up

In the days following an election, Americans look ahead and talk about the plans and promises put forth by our newly chosen political leaders.

Little thought usually is given to whomever came in second.

Many failed candidates quickly disappear from public life and are forgotten by the public. Others, however, seek service opportunities elsewhere and remain active in their communities.

With the 2008 election cycle behind us, the Daily Herald revisited the lives of some suburban candidates who came up short on Election Days past. Though they may not have succeeded at the polls, none should be considered losers.

Tammy Duckworth

Democrat Tammy Duckworth called her 2006 bid for Congress a whirlwind experience.

Less than a year after being severely wounded in Iraq, the Illinois Army National Guard officer and Hoffman Estates resident was urged by Sen. Dick Durbin to run for the 6th District seat, which serves parts of DuPage and Cook counties.

Duckworth, who lost both legs when the helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, had caught Durbin's eye in part because of her advocacy work for other wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"He basically said, put your money where your mouth is," Duckworth, 40, recalled.

The campaign pitted her against Republican Peter Roskam in what became a nationally watched, often-ugly battle. Roskam won by a slim margin and still holds the seat.

Although devastated by the loss, Duckworth found solace less than a week later when she celebrated her "Alive Day," the anniversary of the day she was wounded, with military personnel who saved her life.

"It wasn't like I lost the election and my world ended," Duckworth said.

Then, just a few weeks later, Gov. Rod Blagojevich named Duckworth director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs. It is a job for which she is uniquely suited.

"I'm dedicating myself to doing what I was doing in Walter Reed, before I started the campaign: taking care of my buddies the way they took care of me," Duckworth said.

Duckworth has been mentioned as a possible senatorial successor to President-Elect Barack Obama or as Obama's secretary of veterans affairs.

She said she'd be honored to be considered for either post but insists she has an "incredibly rewarding" job.

"If nothing happens and I stay, I'm perfectly content," said Duckworth, who remains in the National Guard. "I already have the best job I could ever imagine."

Jim Wipper

Former Lake County Coroner Jim Wipper still sees dead people when he goes to work - but from a different perspective.

Now a funeral director at Kristan Funeral Home in Mundelein, Wipper finds similarities between the two jobs.

"You're helping people at the worst times of their lives - and that's what drives me to do (the job)," said Wipper, 52, who worked in the funeral business before becoming a public servant. "That's why I got into the funeral business. I wanted to help people."

Wipper, a Republican from Ingleside, had been appointed coroner in 2003 after his predecessor, Barbara Richardson, retired. He had previously served as chief deputy coroner for 16 years.

But he lost the post in 2004 after a hotly contested race with Democrat Richard Keller, who this month won re-election to a second term.

Wipper took some time off after leaving the coroner's office, joining Kristan in 2005. He hasn't thought about running again.

"I don't consider myself a politician," the soft-spoken Wipper said. "I consider myself a public servant. And I have the opportunity to do that now."

Although some people might find it grim work, Wipper calls his current duty meaningful.

"Whether the family realizes it or not, you know you did the best you could for them, under the circumstances," he explained. "It's kind of a thankless job, but you know you can go home at night and feel good about yourself."

Lauren Beth Gash

Highland Park Democrat Lauren Beth Gash never lost an election - until she ran for Congress.

After four consecutive terms in the state House, Gash ran against Mark Kirk in 2000 for the open seat in the 10th Congressional District, which includes parks of Cook and Lake counties.

The attorney and former PTA mom, who surrendered her legislative seat to run for Congress, narrowly lost to Kirk, who still holds the post.

Gash never sought elected office again.

In the year after the election, Gash traveled the country wither her then-teenage daughter, Sarah, looking at prospective college campuses.

"It was a great bonding experience," Gash, 48, said. "As a new congresswoman, I would absolutely not have been able to do that with her."

She also resumed her legal career and began serving on a number of boards, including the League of Women Voters, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress.

In 2003, Gash cofounded the Tenth Congressional District Democrats, a volunteer group dedicated to helping Democrats win elected office at all levels of government within the district.

"There wasn't a lot of grass-roots activism at the time, and I felt there was a need for something like it," said Gash, who still leads the group.

Eleven people attended the group's first meeting, Gash recalled. She estimated 1,500 people are on its volunteer list today.

Gash said she's often asked if she'll run for office again but hasn't given it significant thought.

"But I would never say never," she said.

Bill Scheurer

Longtime Lindenhurst resident Bill Scheurer never expected to actually win the 2006 race for Illinois' 8th congressional seat, which represents parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

Running under the banner of the Moderate Party he created, Scheurer recorded slightly more than 5 percent of the vote and finished a distant third, behind victorious Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean and Republican David McSweeney.

Bean recently won a third consecutive term.

But Scheurer's goal wasn't to win. It was to shine a bright light on issues he felt weren't being addressed by the front-runners, especially the war in Iraq.

"Our point was to share our concerns with our neighbors about issues that would not have been raised without our presence," said Scheurer, now 57.

Since losing his congressional bid, Scheurer has served was executive director of Beyond War, a national, nonprofit anti-war group. He also serves on the national board of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith, pro-peace group.

And though his name hasn't appeared on any recent ballots, he hasn't dropped out of politics. Scheurer supported his wife, Randy, when she unsuccessfully tried to unseat Bean in this year's Democratic primary, and he backed Green Party candidate Iain Abernathy's bid for the same seat until Abernathy was knocked off the ballot.

Scheurer's considering running for office again.

"I never stop thinking about it," he said. "We're still in the same unfortunate condition that we've been in."