Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D)

The new congresswoman from the 11th District is Debbie Halvorson, a Democrat elected in 2008. Halvorson succeeds Republican Rep. Jerry Weller, who chose retirement amid political pressure over questionable Central American land deals. A former Mary Kay cosmetics saleswoman, Halvorson honed a business acumen that translated into political savvy in Springfield and on the campaign trail. Several years ago, she put a college education on hold while she raised two children as a single mother, juggling jobs selling the popular cosmetics brand and doing temp work for 10 years. She then went back to school, studying for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while serving in the state Senate.

Halvorson was the Crete Township clerk when she was drafted in 1996 to attempt to unseat an 18-year Republican incumbent in the Illinois Senate, Aldo DeAngelis. Halvorson walked all 210 precincts campaigning for over a year, and won with 56% of the vote. DeAngelis’s campaign manager later told Halvorson he knew she would win because “Aldo knew all the bank presidents, but Debbie knew all the tellers.” In the Senate, Halvorson sponsored bills to make cheaper prescriptions available to senior citizens and to protect them from abuse in nursing homes. She also passed a bill toughening laws against hit-and run drivers. In 2005, Halvorson became the first woman in Illinois history to become Senate majority leader.

Halvorson was courted by national Democrats to run, and she was unopposed in the February 2008 primary. On the Republican side, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann emerged as the top vote-getter in a three-way contest, but a few weeks later, he withdrew, saying he had underestimated the time and fundraising commitment. The GOP’s substitute was concrete magnate Martin Ozinga. It was the local businessman’s first foray into politics, but his name recognition and ability to self-fund made him an attractive candidate.

The general election campaign in the swing district quickly became one of the closest watched races in the country. Residents were bombarded by negative direct mail, robocalls, and television and radio advertising. Ozinga accused Halvorson of being a part of unpopular Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s inner circle, though his attacks were muted by revelations that he had once made campaign contributions to Blagojevich. Ozinga also questioned Halvorson’s motives in voting against an electricity rate freeze that would have affected a prominent Democratic donor. Halvorson tried to tie Ozinga to the unpopular Bush administration, highlighting Vice President Dick Cheney’s planned visit to an Ozinga fundraiser. She also charged that his business deals had made him cozy with the Chicago political machine.

With Blagojevich coming under increased scrutiny in Illinois even before the election (he would later be impeached and removed from office in January 2009), it seemed as though some of Ozinga’s salvos might be sticking. He earned an endorsement from the traditionally liberal Chicago Sun-Times, but Halvorson got the backing of the National Rifle Association. Polls showed Ozinga inching closer to Halvorson in the weeks before the election. But Election Day was a different story. Buoyed by a strong showing for Obama in the district, Halvorson cruised to election with 58% of the vote to Ozinga’s 34%.

Once in Congress, Halvorson was appointed to the Agriculture, Small Business and Veterans’ Affairs committees. But even with her wide margin of victory, Republicans were already making plans to recapture the seat: an early entrant for the GOP was Air Force pilot and Iraq War veteran Adam Kinzinger.