Peoria Pundit

(Press release)

Colleen Callahan, Congressional candidate for the 18th District, today announced she is releasing her campaign financial disclosure forms and personal tax records for 2006 and 2007 and joins Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer in his call for Republican Aaron Schock to follow suit.

“I have always said that complete transparency is something I strongly believe should be foremost in a political campaign,” Callahan said. “I learned that vital concept years ago from the late Senator Paul Simon, a dear friend to my family and my own personal hero. It’s my sincere hope that Aaron joins us in releasing this crucial information to the voters of the 18th District.”

The links to the documents appear on the campaign Web page www.colleencallahanforcongress.com under the About Colleen tab.

Anyone see Aaron Schock’s very brief speech to the Republican National Convention? I did. Read more »

(press release)

Schock seeks center stage, shuns debate stage

Aaron Schock’s last-minute invitation to speak at the Republican National Convention underscores a fundamental flaw in the young Republican’s candidacy. Schock has again proven he is more than eager to step up and into the national spotlight to bask in the toxic glow of eight years of a failed Bush Administration while being totally unwilling to address voters or debate his opponents here in the very Congressional district he seeks to represent.
It’s also surprising that GOP Presidential candidate John McCain would invite a state Representative from Illinois to speak at the RNC, especially one who has advocated selling nuclear missiles to Taiwan to use against China. It would seem to be a dangerous and risky move on McCain’s part to have such a reckless young man speaking on his behalf before a national audience.
Schock has taken thousands of dollars from Big Oil while publicly disagreeing with McCain on whether ethanol subsidies should be discontinued for farmers here in Illinois. Schock also brought President Bush to Peoria for a private, exclusive fundraiser that brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into Schock’s already substantial war chest.

Aaron Schock stands for the status quo in Washington, despite his campaign manager’s repeated efforts to position his candidate as a “breath of fresh air.”

It’s time for the voters of the 18th District to hold Aaron Schock accountable to the needs of people here in central Illinois. Aaron Schock needs to spend more time telling voters here what he stands for and less time standing for what he craves most — national attention in order to further his ambitious political agenda.

(Press release)

NEW POLL SHOWS AARON SCHOCK WITH HUGE LEAD IN RACE FOR CONGRESS

Schock towers over Callahan by 29 percentage points

(PEORIA) With just over two months to go in the race, a new poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Virginia on August 18-20th shows Aaron Schock leading Colleen Callahan by a more than two-to-one margin with Green Party nominee Sheldon Schafer getting 2% of the vote.

The 400 sample size poll conducted throughout the 18th Congressional District shows Schock with a commanding lead throughout the district. The head to head match up showed Schock with 56% of the vote to Callahan’s 27% and Schafer’s 2%, with 13% undecided.

The question was simply worded, “If the election to U.S. Congress were being held today, for whom would you vote…Colleen Callahan, Democrat; Sheldon Schafer, Green Party or Aaron Schock, Republican? The three names were rotated in order as the question was asked of voters.

The Schock campaign released two polls it had commissioned by Public Opinion Strategies in the primary race and both showed Schock with substantial leads. His final vote totals were even higher however, earning 72% of the vote.

“Public Opinion Strategies is one of the most respected and accurate polling firms in the nation,” said Schock campaign manager Steven Shearer. “Some people questioned the validity of the polls we released in the primary campaign and even scoffed that Aaron’s numbers couldn’t possibly be that high, but Aaron’s margin of the vote confirmed those poll findings.”

“Without question the only poll that counts is on Election Day,” Shearer continued. “That is why Aaron Schock is working exceptionally hard to earn new support each and every day, just as he has done in each campaign.”

A memo of the results of the poll has been prepared by Public Opinion Strategies and follows this page, and is being publicly released to the media.

The memo:

M E M O R A N D U M
TO: STATE REPRESENTATIVE AARON SCHOCK
THE SCHOCK CAMPAIGN TEAM
FROM: GLEN BOLGER
RE: KEY FINDINGS – ILLINOIS CD-18 SURVEY
DATE: AUGUST 28, 2008
Survey Overview

With just over sixty days to go, Aaron Schock is in solid shape to be the next Member of
Congress from Illinois’ 18th Congressional District. Schock holds a solid lead on the ballot, and
voters like him a great deal. It is clear that Schock has not taken this election for granted, and his
efforts will pay dividends come November.

Key Findings

Aaron Schock leads Colleen Callahan 56%-27% on the congressional ballot test, with 2% of
voters choosing Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer and 13% undecided. By intensity, 39%
are committed to Schock, while 17% definitely vote for Callahan.

The challenge Callahan faces is compounded by the fact that she trails Schock significantly in
name recognition and favorables. Eighty-four percent (84%) of likely voters have heard of
Schock, with 58% having a favorable impression of him and 12% having an unfavorable
impression. By contrast, Callahan’s image is 66% heard of/29% favorable/9% unfavorable.

Matching Aaron’s name recognition and favorables in the final nine weeks of the campaign is a
tall order for the Callahan campaign.

Even during the most anti-Republican national political environment in decades, district voters
prefer to vote for Aaron Schock in November.

Methodology

Public Opinion Strategies conducted a telephone survey of likely voters in the 18th
Congressional District of Illinois for the Aaron Schock for Congress Campaign and the National
Republican Congressional Committee. The survey was completed August 18-20, 2008 among
four hundred (400) likely voters in the district and has a margin of error of +4.9% in 95 out of 100 cases.

(press release)

ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU ENDORSES AARON SCHOCK FOR CONGRESS

Key constituency in 18th District endorses Schock

Agriculture leaders support Schock’s “depth on the issues”

The Illinois Farm Bureau has voted to endorse Representative Aaron Schock’s candidacy for Congress in Illinois’ 18th District. Schock has earned the Farm Bureau endorsement over his opponents, Democratic Party nominee Colleen Callahan and Green Party nominee Sheldon Shafer.

“I have worked hard in the General Assembly to develop a good voting record on agriculture and a strong relationship with the Farm Bureau,” said Schock. “I am gratified the Farm Bureau appreciates my record of being an effective advocate for farmers.”

“I am determined to successfully advocate on behalf of the economic interests of my district and with agriculture being the number one industry here, that certainly requires fully understanding the concerns of farmers,” Schock continued.

Farm Bureau leaders from all over the 18th District recently met to hold extensive interviews with both candidates. These ACTIVATOR trustees came away favoring Schock and impressed by his command of agriculture issues and his positions on the issues.

The Farm Bureau is the largest organization of farmers in the nation, with more than 418,000 members in Illinois. Their endorsement is one of the most prized endorsements in the Congressional district.

“We cannot take the prosperity and competitiveness of our farmers for granted,” said Schock. “Our government needs to be pro-active in ensuring adequate markets for agricultural commodities, efficient transportation for those commodities, providing a secure and stable energy supply, along with low taxes and reasonable rewards for hard work.”

Aside from communicating their endorsement directly to the tens of thousands of their members in the 18th District, the Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR committee will also contribute financially to Schock’s campaign.

(press release)

August 27, 2008

Rep. Schock earns Congressional endorsement from farm organization

For Immediate Release

ACTIVATOR, the political involvement fund of Illinois Agricultural Association, is endorsing State Representative Aaron Schock of Peoria in his bid for Congress.

Rep. Schock is the Republican nominee in the 18th Congressional District that covers all or most of Adams, Logan, Marshall, Mason, Morgan, Peoria, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Tazewell, and Woodford County and portions of Cass, Macon, Putnam, and Scott County.

18th District ACTIVATOR Committee Chairman Dennis Hughes of Macon County acknowledged Schock’s experience as a state legislator and his sensitivity to agricultural and rural issues. If elected, Schock said he will ask to serve on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.

“Aaron recognizes that agriculture represents the largest industry in the 18th District. He supports making the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent, understands the importance of farm programs and trade, and will vote to expand domestic supplies of energy – including renewable fuels,” Hughes said.

Schock was born in rural Minnesota and grew up on a cattle and grain farm before moving to the Peoria area, which has one of the nation’s highest concentrations of ethanol producers. In addition to biofuels, Schock supports domestic oil and natural gas exploration, clean coal technology, and an expansion of nuclear energy as part of a comprehensive energy package.

“Our ACTIVATOR committee was impressed by Aaron’s resume, his ideas, and his enthusiasm for public service. We are pleased that he wants to serve on the agriculture committee and believe he will be an energetic and responsive voice in Washington for the citizens of our district,” Hughes said.

The Illinois Agricultural Association, also known as Illinois Farm Bureau, is the state’s largest general farm organization with more than 418,000 members.

C.J. Summers beat me to the punch by commenting on Monday’s Word on the Street column. Karen McDonald points out that the national Democratic Party has not been as forthcoming with financial support to Colleen  Callahan as many would like. This is nothing new, in my opinion. As long as I’ve been cognizant of politics, the national Dems have always written off the 18th District, even in years in which that party had candidate with a pulse.

But C.J. tried to compare and contrast the Word column with posts I have written that dare to suggest that there is strong support for Callahan, and that with some breaks she might actually have a chance.

In sports, you occasionally have games in which one team is the overriding favorite. They still play the games. And sometimes there are upsets.

Here’s another upset: A couple of years ago, a teenager who was ticked off about not being allowed to graduate early decided to run for  school board. When they kicked him off the ballot, he ran a write-in campaign for the seat being held by the board president.

Aaron Schock won.

That same kid is now considered the overwhelming favorite to win the 18th District seat in Congress. His opponent is a well-known and respected broadcaster with a ton of name recognition. You can’t write Colleen Callahan out.

Not in this political climate. It’s three months to the election. That’s an eternity in politics.