Trump Isn’t the Only Politician Pretending He Is a Winner
A spin-off of the Trump reality show is currently playing out in the 14th Congressional District in Illinois
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Challenger Jim Oberweis lost the 14th Congressional District race in Illinois to Incumbent Lauren Underwood. The Associated Press called the race for Underwood on the afternoon of November 12th. But that didn’t stop Oberweis from declaring an early victory and appearing in Washington D.C. for new member orientation.
Underwood won two years ago against the four-term Republican incumbent, Randy Hultgren. She became the first woman and the first African-American to represent the district, which happens to be 86% white.
Although the race for president was called early Tuesday night in Illinois, some local races remained too close to call. In Illinois, ballots postmarked by November 3rd are accepted two weeks after Election Day.
And this year, just like we saw play out in the rest of the nation, Illinois Republicans voted mainly in person, while Democrats sent their ballots through the mail. In Illinois, the in-person votes were counted first, making it appear Oberweis had won when the early results were first reported.
But, just as we’ve seen in other states, the mail-in ballots leaned heavily Democratic. The race was close on election night. Much too close to call with so many outstanding ballots. And yet, following in the footsteps of our president, Oberweis claimed victory on his Facebook page the day after the election. Before any news organization had made the call.
Underwood refused to concede until more votes were counted. As the ballots slowly trickled in, just like we saw in other state races for the president, such as Georgia and Pennsylvania, the vote began to swing the other way.
And sure enough, on Thursday, November 12th, with almost all of the outstanding ballots counted, Underwood was up at the time by 4,288 votes. (It’s now grown to over 4,600.) The Associated Press called it. Underwood had won her reelection.
You would think that would prompt Oberweis to publicly concede. But it did not. Oberweis, who had declared victory prematurely on November 4th, still attended new member orientation at the Capitol on Thursday.
He tweeted and posted on Facebook a series of photos of his tour of the White House. He is seen beaming as he posed for a picture with a Republican congresswoman.
It is not uncommon for candidates to attend the freshman orientation when races are undecided. But this race was not undecided at the time of the orientation. It had been called by the AP.
Now you may argue he had already made the trek to Washington prior to the race being called. Maybe he just wanted a tour of the White House. That’s understandable. But don’t forget, Oberweis had already declared victory the day after the election. He is refusing to concede. These social media posts are sending a distinct message to his followers.
Underwood, however, is moving forward and issued the following statement.
“I am honored to be reelected to represent Illinois’ beautiful 14th District in Congress. This was a tough race under some very difficult circumstances, and I want to say thank you to my supporters, the voters, and our elections officials for their diligent work,”
“We face urgent challenges as a community and a country,” she continued. “I remain focused on getting results: protecting our families, ensuring a robust economic recovery, and lowering the cost of health care. Whether you voted for me or not, I pledge to represent every member of this community. That’s my responsibility, and I take it seriously. It’s a privilege to bring northern Illinois voices and values to Washington and I can’t wait to build upon all that we’ve accomplished, together.”
Jim Oberweis is not going quietly. The final vote was close enough he can request a recount, and that is what he intends to do. His campaign spokesman, Travis Akin, issued the following statement.
“There are still votes that have yet to be counted. The totals at this point are unofficial totals as the race has yet to be certified. We are committed to exploring all of the legal options at our disposal and will pursue these options that are afforded our campaign under law.”
There is a small number of ballots remaining since the AP called the race, but they haven’t been favorable for Oberweis. Underwood’s lead has continued to grow. The AP waited to call it until the statistical chance of Oberweis having enough votes to win was gone. News organizations don’t decide who won. They employ statisticians who follow the numbers and make their call based on the figures.
There will most likely be a recount, and Oberweis is within his rights to request one in Illinois when the loss is under 5%. However, declaring victory and heading to Washington in triumph is hardly the same as requesting a legal recount. We seem to be heading into dangerous territory here that could have lasting effects. If our elected leaders no longer follow the will of the people or follow the tally of our votes, what does it mean to hold elections?
Yes, there are the immediate issues with the president-elect not getting access to important resources and information needed for transition, the problem of a divided nation, and the 71 million people that still believe there is a chance Trump may get a second term (there isn’t, at least not in 2021.)
But beyond these issues lies another one that could have long-lasting effects. Once we stop accepting the time-honored tradition of following the steps of voting, tallying the votes, and one side conceding, we lose what it means to be a democracy.
Jim Oberweis declaring premature victory and attending orientation for House members is on a smaller scale. Yet it’s an accurate representation of the danger Trump is presenting by his inaccurate cries of fraud and his refusal to concede. We’re losing what it means to be American.
The question remains, can we get it back after Trump is off the scene, or will the ghost of his power grab never leave us? Will more and more people stop accepting the will of the people? Or can we right the wrong that is currently wreaking havoc on our democracy?
As I write this, thousands of Americans descended on Washington D.C. last night to protest a fair election. What would they have us do? Throw out the election results? Disenfranchise over 78 million voters and counting?
And this is the slippery slope Trump, and the Republicans supporting his false claims, are putting us on. If you don’t like the election results, call it a fraud and overturn it. Will things get back to normal when Trump is gone, or have we set ourselves up for future chaos?
As much as I’d like to believe Trump will ride off into the sunset in January and leave us to return to normalcy, I think we must be ready to admit his influence will be felt for a long time to come.
