Aug 5 2004
It's inevitable that "firsts" will be subject to media attention -- when something happens for the first time, it's news. In Georgia, the news is that one of the two men vying for the Republian slot in Georgia's 8th Congressional District is black. In Illinois, the news is that the black Congressional contender is a Democrat and that the Republicans have been unable to muster a nominee.
In Georgia, Dylan Glenn faces Lynn Westmoreland on 10 August in a fight for the Republican slot in the open race in Georgia's 8th District. The former aide to President Bush and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue polled 38 percent of the vote in the 20 July primary; Westmoreland received 46 percent. The district's voting-age population is 88 percent white. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Sylvia Dalamar, also black, in the 2 November general election.
There is more than race separating the two men, however. Glenn is 35 and single, a former White House aide; he has been endorsed by national and state republican leaders. Westmoreland is 54 and has been married 35 years; he is a seasoned state politician, and self-made construction businessman.
In Illinois, the Congressional race has been marked in the national press more by high profile candidates that Republicans have offered and subsequently rescinded.
See Columbus Ledger Enquirer ; Chicago Sun-Times