How deep was Obama effect in suburban races?

Look at suburban election results from one angle and the vaunted Barack Obama coattails appear to offer all the coverage of a political tube top.

Time and again, incumbent Republican lawmakers fended off record Democratic turnout in the region and won re-election. In at least two races it can be argued the Green Party had more influence on the outcome.

But look closer at the results and the Obama coattails emerge. Three Democrats won seats on the DuPage County Board while in Lake County four Democrats captured GOP seats on that board.

Given the hype headed into the election, the mixed results had political observers scratching their heads.

Asked if there were Obama coattails, veteran analyst Paul Green first said, "No." Then he thought for a moment and came back, "yeah."

"There is a Democratic wave that started long before Obama," said Green, director of Roosevelt University's school of policy studies. "But it was not a tsunami. (Obama) just made it a little bigger and move a little faster.

In congressional and state legislative races, Obama's influence didn't provide an across-the-board knockout punch.

Incumbent Republicans held their own against strong Democratic challenges from Naperville to Zion, including a heated battle in the 10th Congressional District that drew millions of dollars and national attention. U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk won re-election over Democrat Dan Seals.

In DuPage County, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, who narrowly won his seat in 2006, easily dispatched Democrat Jill Morganthaler even as Obama won the county with 55 percent of the vote.

There were similar results further down the ballot, where Republicans managed to keep control of several races that Democrats targeted. For instance, state Reps. Rosemary Mulligan of Des Plaines and Sid Mathias of Buffalo Grove both won while Democrats picked up a seat when Mark Walker won the district left open by the retirement of Republican Rep. Carolyn Krause.

But Republicans say Obama's presence had them playing defense this entire election and while they kept many seats, the margins of victory were narrowed because of the Chicago Democrats' popularity in the suburbs.

"He (Obama) allowed the Democrats to play offense in Naperville. He changed where the political battleground was," said David Dring, spokesman for House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego.

Naperville was the site of two open Illinois House seats previously held by Republicans who chose to retire. Republicans won both seats, but had to exert considerable effort and expense to do it. In one contest Republican Darlene Senger received 49 percent to defeat Democrat Diane McGuire who got 48 percent while Green Party nominee Jennifer Witt recorded 3 percent.

Mathias noted that two years ago he won re-election with 60 percent of the vote. Tuesday night his victory was reduced to roughly 53 percent.

"There's no doubt Obama had an effect in my race," Mathias said.

Obama was credited with helping deliver the Democratic gains that did come from Tuesday's elections.

Elgin Republican state Rep. Ruth Munson narrowly lost to Democrat Keith Farnham by less than 1 percentage point. Green Party nominee Dane Willman received 3 percent of the vote.

"That is 100 percent because of Obama," said Dring, referring to the surge in new voters in the district.

Republicans similarly credited to Obama their county board losses in Lake and DuPage.

"Senator Obama's impact was that he balloons turnout of new voters and minorities but there is very little personal coattails left in American politics," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican.

Dillard projected the GOP would make a comeback, pointing to past Democratic intrusions onto the DuPage County Board following voters dissatisfaction with Republicans in the wake of Watergate.

"That has happened before in DuPage County," said Dillard, "and we quickly reclaimed those seats."