Politics & Government

Obama Endorses Foster for Congress

The president also gave the nod to fellow Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Brad Schneider.

Judy Biggert has Giuliani; Bill Foster has Obama.

On Friday, President Barack Obama endorsed scientist Foster, a Democrat hoping to unseat incumbent Biggert in the race to represent the new 11th Congressional District.

Foster, who represented the 14th District from 2008 to 2010, was one of three Illinois Democrats to get the nod from the president.

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In a statement released Friday, Obama also endorsed Tammy Duckworth, a decorated Iraq War veteran running in the 8th Congressional District, and Brad Schneider, who is running against Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) in the 10th District.

Along with Biggert, Dold got some big-name backing last month from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who appeared at a Chicago fundraiser for the incumbent Republicans.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

READ: Giuliani Stumps for Biggert

"America's middle class needs these great leaders like Tammy Duckworth, Brad Schneider and Bill Foster in Congress to stand up and fight for them,” Obama said in his statement. “They will create jobs here at home by building from the middle out, not the top down. They will protect Medicare for our seniors and education for our next generation. Middle class families can count on them and they need your support on election day."

The endorsement came after Foster took some heat from CLTV host Paul Lisnek, who questioned some of the endorsements listed on his campaign website, saying the publications listed on the site had actually endorsed Biggert in the Nov. 6 election.

Foster, who clarified that he was referring to endorsements for the March 2012 primary, has since updated the website.

"I'm proud to have President Obama's back and am honored that he has mine,” Foster said in a statement Friday. “The president understands the important link between economic growth and the strength of the middle class, and under his leadership we reversed the financial collapse, stabilized the housing market and have seen millions of new jobs created. Just like the president's opponent, my opponent supports the same Bush policies that got us into this mess. We need to restore rationality and a sense of common purpose to Congress and move this country forward, together."

Be in the know before you vote: Check out Plainfield Patch’s Election Central page.

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What do you think? Do big-name endorsements make a difference? Will this change your vote?


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