10th Congressional District Election: Schneider Defeats Bennett

The North Shore's 10th Congressional District had flipped between Republican and Democratic hands in every election since former U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk resigned in 2010, with the past three elections featuring the same candidates on the ballot. But that streak ended in 2018, with a Democrat winning the seat in two straight elections for the first time since Abner Mikva in the 1970s. With nearly a quarter of the votes counted, incumbent U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider was projected the winner after fending off a sparsely funded challenge from business consultant and fellow Deerfield resident Doug Bennett, a local GOP official who bested two well-financed primary opponents after last spring's announcement that Kenilworth Republican Bob Dold would not seek another term in office.

Schneider, 57, is a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition of centrist House Democrats. He defeated Dold for his first term in 2012 by fewer than 4,000 votes, lost to Dold in 2014 by under 5,000 votes and won election two years ago by a margin of about 15,000 votes. He is a former consultant who describes himself as a pragmatic and moderate progressive.

“In 2016, our race was one of just a few bright spots on a dark night, bucking the national trend and sending a clear message to Washington about the values and priorities of the Tenth District. Tonight, two years later, we amplified that message even louder," Schneider said after his victory. “It is an incredible honor to be entrusted to represent you in Washington. I’m proud of what we accomplished this past term by staying true to our values, being willing to work across the aisle for solutions, and listening to constituents in every community throughout our district."

Bennett, 55, edged out his nearest competitor in the March primary by less than 500 votes. Currently the head of the vice town chair of the West Deerfield Township Republicans, Bennett has been active in politics since an internship in Congress in the 1970s. In 2012, he ran unsuccessfully for the Lake County Board. He is also a former U.S. Junior Olympic fencer.

Bennett was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, which cited Schneider's vote against last year's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, "which is benefiting many 10th District residents and their employers." Schneider picked up endorsements from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald, which pointed to the fact that 41 percent of legislation the incumbent sponsored last year originated by Republican members of Congress as evidence of his bipartisan collaboration.

"Over the next two years, I will continue to be always there, working hard to build an economy that works for all of us instead of just those at the top, improve our health care, and make progress on the important issues, including college affordability, gun safety and immigration reform,” Schneider said in his victory statement.

Election results

Return to Patch Tuesday night for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results. The polls open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. NOTE: Tuesday's results are unofficial and do not include provisional and late absentee ballots.

According to federal campaign finance reports, Schneider has raised more than $4 million and spent nearly $3 million as of mid-October. Bennett raised $260,350, all but $25,156 of which he had spent by the middle of last month. He has also loaned his campaign more than $115,000. No public polling is available for the district, but the Cook Political Report rates the race as "Solid Democratic." Schneider's financial advantage allowed him to broadcasts television ads consistently ahead of Election Day, while there has been little sign of even web videos from the Bennett campaign.

As a debate last month in Deerfield, Bennett said he would bring a superior brand of compromise to Congress.

"When I'm in a business and we're trying to solve a problem, what we do is we find key stakeholders and we bring them to the table, we see what they need, and we make sure that people get some part of what they want and not all of what they want. And we've lost that. It seems to me that everybody in Washington is trying to win today's news cycle and not work toward an understanding," Bennett said. "In the old days, the majority party would have its No. 1 priority, its No. 2 priority, and would conceded the minority party's No. 1 priority. And we'd just go down the list so everybody would go home saying, 'I got stuff done.' Somewhere they've decided that it's better not to get stuff done than to solve our problems. And I think we need people who are not dug in, who are not bitter and angry, who are not part of the system and the merry-go-round and the lobbyists and the PACs and all the money that goes through there that drive people into their own little corners."

Schneider said he aims to represent everyone in the district, although he runs as a Democrat.

"We are working to try to solve our problems, and we will only solve those problems if we find ways to bridege the gap and cross the aisle and work together. But each and every day I take votes on behalf of you, the people of this district. And you can count on me each and every day to be focused on the priorities of this district," Schneider said, promising to protect abortion rights and the national environment and preserve funding for health care. "The votes I take day in and day out reflect the work I do trying to understand who I'm representing and what's important to our community."

The 10th District includes all or parts of Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Fox Lake, Glenview, Grayslake, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Libertyville, Mundelein, North Chicago, Northbrook, Prospect heights, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Vernon Hills, Waukegan, Wheeling and Zion.

More About Bennett and Schneider

Read more about these candidates from their campaign websites:

• Doug Bennett
• Brad Schneider

More Illinois voting info: Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections