Most attention this campaign season in the US has been focused on the race for the top of the ticket, but some down ticket races are of great import.

Last night in Illinois the 14th Congressional district, predominately to the west of Chicago,  which went vacant with the early retirement of former Republican Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, was won by Democrat Bill Foster, a physicist and business man from Geneva IL.  Foster defeated James D. Oberweis, a dairy man and financier.

Combined with the Democratic primary result earlier this season in Maryland, in which left winger and Move-On darling Donna Edwards unseated long time incumbent Albert Wynn by a walloping 60/36 margin.  Voters were especially concerned about Wynn’s record of support for the Iraq war.

Progressives can look towards the fall elections with some sense of promise given these recent results.