Illinois Republicans Tap Ozinga To Run For Weller Seat

Illinois Republicans selected concrete magnate Marty Ozinga III to be their nominee for the seat of retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), replacing New Lenox mayor Tim Baldermann on the 11th District Congressional ballot.

Baldermann withdrew from the race after winning the Republican nomination in February, forcing the party to scramble to find a replacement. .

Ozinga also announced he has raised over $400,000 since he began fundraising earlier this month, significantly closing the cash-on-hand gap between himself and his Democratic opponent, state Senate President Debbie Halvorson. Halvorson reported $673,000 in her campaign account at the end of March.

"We're incredibly pleased with that total, and I think it demonstrates that this is going to be an incredibly competitive race," campaign spokesman Andy Sere. "We're pretty much on a level playing field right now."

Ozinga told the Associated Press yesterday that, despite his substantial personal wealth, he was unlikely to put more than $350,000 of his own money into the race. He elaborated on those remarks in an interview with Politico today.

"It's a mistake, a bad strategy to try to put your own money in yourself - it's the broad base that gets people invested in the thing overall and makes you a better candidate," Ozinga said.

Ozinga described himself as a traditional conservative - supporting lower taxes, limited government, and opposing abortion rights and gay marriage - and said he will be highlighting those themes in a race against Halvorson. He described Halvorson, who has spent the last 11 years in the state legislature, as a "career politician."
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