Democrat Wins the Special Election to Fill Former GOP Speaker Hastert's House Seat

CHICAGO (AP) -- Democrat Bill Foster has snatched former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional seat in a closely watched special election that gave the longtime Republican district to the Democrats.

Foster has won 52 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Republican Jim Oberweis with 556 of 568 precincts reporting.

This is a red district. Former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert represented this district since 1987, winning reelection by huge margins.

This district includes the city of Dixon, which is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan.

This is a district that President Bush won twice, and in 2004 he received 56% of the vote.

The NRCC poured over $1 million here to hold onto this seat -- nearly a third of its cash on hand.

John McCain actually took time from his presidential campaign to come to Illinois and hold a fundraiser for Oberweis and formally endorse him.

Barack Obama also deserves a shout out, not just for cutting an ad for Foster and helping with the GOTV effort, but also for proving that his coattails can help even a political newcomer win in a red district. If Obama is the nominee in November, this will be a key element of building on a Democratic majority throughout the nation.