Jun 9, 2009 10:28 am US/Central
Hastert's Son Running For Dad's Former House Seat
Seat Currently Held By Democrat Bill Foster
ELBURN, Ill. (CBS) ―
Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's son, Ethan Hastert, has announced he will run for his father's Chicago-area seat in Congress.
The 31-year-old Hastert said Monday he would begin campaigning and fundraising for the 14th District seat.
A spokesman told CBS 2 that papers forming Hastert's campaign committee will be filed Tuesday or Wednesday.
Dennis Hastert held the seat for 20 years and was the longest-serving Republican House Speaker. He announced in August 2007 that he would not seek reelection.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Batavia won the seat in the November general election.
Foster said Monday that he hasn't decided whether he'll run for re-election. A spokeswoman released a statement Monday in response to Ethan Hastert's announcement:
"Whether he is voting to cut taxes for 95 percent of working district residents, delivering nearly $64 million to 14th District schools or demonstrating he is concerned about paying down the national debt by voting against the Democratic Party's budget, Congressman Bill Foster is focused on working to solve the problems our families face and get our economy moving again – he is not thinking about elections right now."
The younger Hastert has never held elected office. The self-described economic and social conservative grew up in Yorkville and now is an attorney from Elburn.
He says he hopes to be part of the district's "next generation of leadership."
Hastert said voters want a younger perspective and with that sometimes comes less experience with holding public office.
"If you want a 30-year-old to step up and run in some of these races," he said, "you have to recognize they're not going to have the normal resume."
Hastert also said Foster does not represent the "values" of the people in the district.
In April, when rumors circled of Hastert vying for the seat, Kane County Republican leaders were positive about Hastert being a candidate, but wondered whether Congress was the right first step.
The Kane County Chronicle and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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