Marathon Pundit: Ill. 8th Cong. District: GOP challenger putting team together

My good friend Dan Curry of Reverse Spin is part of Steven Greenberg's campaign team. The Long Grove Republican's goal is to unseat Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Barrington) in Illinois' 8th District.

From a Greenberg press release:

Curry is one of the most experienced and respected communications strategists in Illinois. He served as Communications Director for U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald and Press Secretary for Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and is a former political/investigative reporter with the Daily Herald.

More from that release:

Entrepreneur and political outsider Steve Greenberg is assembling a winning campaign team that blends the youth, experience and talent necessary to defeat Melissa Bean in the 8th Congressional District in Illinois.

In recent weeks, Greenberg, a Republican, hired one of Illinois ' top fundraisers, top communications experts, as well as a respected political operative as his campaign manager.

The Greenberg campaign team (also) includes:

Brad Goodman, Campaign Manager. A respected, aggressive veteran of a half-dozen House and Senate races, Goodman brings local knowledge to the race as a Lake County native. During the 2006 primary campaign, Goodman worked as Political Director for Kathy Salvi's Congressional race and during the general election he served as a political aide to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert. He also is a former intern in the White House Office of Political Affairs.

Lori Montana, Finance Director. Montana is recognized as one of the best fundraisers in the Midwest. She's raised money for numerous top GOP candidates in Illinois including Governor Jim Edgar. She also is former director of the Illinois Lottery and was the longest serving director in agency history.

I understand it is going to take a strong team effort to defeat Washington insider Melissa Bean and all her special interest money," Greenberg said. "I'm pleased to have Brad, Lori and Dan in place to build a campaign that will be up to the task ahead."

Steve Greenberg is considered nationally one of the top newcomers to challenge for a House seat. The 36-year-old successful businessman, entrepreneur, and professional hockey player brings passion and energy to the race. He lives in Long Grove with his wife and three children. He is a forceful advocate of low taxes, making government more efficient and a strong national defense. He believes the people of the 8th District deserve representation that focuses on their needs, not those of the Washington political class.

In 2004, the year Bean won her first election to the House, President Bush carried the 8th with 55% of the vote. The district is located completely within the Chicago metropolitan area, covering roughly half of Lake and McHenry Counties, along with a small portion of Cook.

In a three-way race in 2006, Bean was re-elected with 51% of the vote.

As I've reported in the below posts, Bean has found herself in a couple of embarrasing situations lately.

Related posts:

Fish heads are a homeland security threat

Rep. Melissa Bean doing her part in increasing the deficit

Technorati tags: