Democrats fight to keep 3 Ill. congressional seats

Democrats are fighting Tuesday to keep three key Illinois congressional seats and take a fourth open spot in an effort to prevent a Republican majority from claiming the state's congressional delegation for the first time in seven years.

Fueled by tea party support and a national anti-incumbency mood, Republicans say they can capture the seats held by Democratic Reps. Debbie Halvorson, Bill Foster and Phil Hare. But Democrats insist their unpopularity is exaggerated and they have the GOP beat when it comes to fundraising.

A fourth seat, in the 10th District, is open because Republican Rep. Mark Kirk is running for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. In that district, business consultant and three-time Democratic candidate Dan Seals faces Republican Robert Dold, owner of a pest-control company.

Wins in all four districts would give Republicans ten of the state's 19 congressional districts.

Halvorson, a former state senator, won her first term in the 11th District in 2008 after Rep. Jerry Weller retired amid ethics questions. Her GOP challenger, Adam Kinzinger, is an Air Force pilot who has received backing from tea party activists and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The district stretches south of Chicago to Bloomington.

Foster, a physicist, faces Republican state Sen. Randy Hultgren in the 14th district, a once Republican stronghold that stretches west of Chicago to almost the Mississippi River. Foster won the seat in a special election in 2008 after former House Speaker Dennis Hastert retired.

Hare is being challenged by pizzeria owner Bobby Schilling, who is running for office for the first time. Schilling has received heavy tea party support in the 17th district, which covers a large portion of the state's western border.