Voter turnout for Emanuel's seat to be low

Voting was at a trickle Tuesday as nearly two dozen candidates competed for their party's nomination in a special primary election for the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel.

Election officials said no problems were reported in the district's 578 precincts and voter turnout was expected to be low.

"It's always low in a special primary," said Jim Allen, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections. "There's a short amount of time to get to know the candidates. There's not as much enthusiasm or knowledge as you'd have with a presidential or gubernatorial election where there are months of buildup or scrutiny."

Candidates had just two months to campaign for the primary and will have another month before the April 7 special election that will decide the next representative from the strong Democratic district that's home to the Chicago Cubs' Wrigley Field.

The primary pits a dozen Democrats against each other, including politicians from Cook County like Commissioner Mike Quigley and longtime Chicago Alderman Patrick O'Connor to state Reps. Sara Feigenholtz and John Fritchey.

Quigley garnered endorsements from the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.

The race also includes six Republicans and five Green Party candidates in a district that stretches from Chicago's wealthy North Side lakefront to ethnic enclaves on the northwest side and neighboring Cook County suburbs.

Voting traffic at the Lakeview East Cooperative Tuesday morning was steady, it wasn't busy, poll workers said.

It didn't take Ken Bellis, 44, long to cast his vote for Feigenholtz.

The 12-year district resident, who had voted for Emanuel, had previously voted for Feigenholtz as a state representative because of her support for gay rights and issues affecting people with disabilities.

"I'm hoping she'll take those issues with her to Washington because I know she is going to win today," said Bellis, who works at a nonprofit in Chicago for adults with developmental disabilities.

Martin Plesha emerged from the polls with a one-word answer for how he voted: "Republican."

The 47-year-old, who runs a program business at Wrigley, said he always comes out for elections, even primaries. He said he thought it was important to get out the Republican vote in the Democratic stronghold.

He cast his ballot for Gregory Bedell because he felt he was "a little bit more moderate," noting some of the other Republicans in the race were too liberal for him.

The 23 candidates are vying for the chance to finish out the two-year term Emanuel won in November and then resigned to become President Barack Obama's chief of staff.

The largely white district of Poles, Germans and Irish with a sizable Hispanic population has been Emanuel's since 2002. The district has voted overwhelmingly Democratic in past elections for Emanuel. It's the same seat once held by ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski.

Whoever wins, candidates are counting on having some advantage in Washington -- although not seniority -- coming from Emanuel's old district in the home city of the president.