Bean concedes to Walsh in 8th District

Tea party Republican secures seat in D.C.
By Dan Hinkel and Katherine Skiba, Tribune reporters


Republican upstart Joe Walsh held onto his whisker-thin margin over Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean as the final votes were tallied Tuesday, securing an upset for an underfunded congressional candidate who credited tea party groups — not the GOP establishment — for his win.

Bean conceded Tuesday night, finishing 290 votes behind Walsh after the counting of absentee and provisional ballots in Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. More than 200,000 votes were cast.

Already busy with freshman orientation week in Washington, Walsh said Tuesday he was "ecstatic" to hold onto the win. He said Republican leaders have enthusiastically welcomed the new faces, including less traditional GOP candidates with tea party backing.

"We're one big happy family," he said.

Bean, of Barrington, announced her concession in a two-paragraph statement saying she had called Walsh to congratulate him. She is scheduled to make further comments Wednesday.

Walsh's victory puts the north suburban 8th District back into Republican hands six years after Bean wrested the seat from GOP stalwart Philip Crane, who held the post for 35 years.

His win also lends reinforcement to the platoon of freshman Republicans from the Chicago area joining the new GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Walsh joins Robert Dold from the north suburban 10th District, Adam Kinzinger from the south suburban 11th and Randy Hultgren from the west suburban 14th.

Walsh, of McHenry, began the campaign as a distinct underdog, and raised less than $500,000 to Bean's nearly $2 million. Almost no one believed he could even make the race close, let alone that the result would turn on a count of a few hundred absentee ballots in the basement of the Lake County Courthouse two weeks after Election Day.

Dark-suited observers from each side joined a gaggle of reporters, photographers and election officials who watched Lake County Clerk Willard Helander lead the final count, calling out the totals to the crowd of about 50.

Walsh mounted a winning campaign despite being forced to address concerns about his recent personal history. He lost a home to foreclosure in October 2009, his driver's license was suspended twice in 2008 after he failed to appear in court, and he was cited twice for not having auto insurance in June 2009, according to court records and state officials.

In Washington on Tuesday, Walsh said he senses Republicans are united in their desire to drastically change the way the federal government works.

"There is a real humility in the air among these Republicans," he said.

Tribune reporter Lisa Black contributed to this report.

dhinkel@tribune.com

kskiba@tribune.com

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