McSweeney and Bean Necking

Oops, I mean neck and neck -- as in the poll for the Houses seat for the Illinois 8th on Real Clear Politics shows Bean at 48% and McSweeney at 45%, with 7% undecided.

This race is of particular interest to me as I live in the 8th district. However, this race is also being closely watched nationally as it has traditionally been a "safe" conservative district. That was, until 2004, when long-time incumbent Phil Crane took Bean for granted and lost it.

In fact, this race was also the highlight of a front-page story in a Wall Street Journal last week where the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is covering their bets and funneling campaign contributions to Democrats -- including $700k to Bean.