Seven years after he scored a never-anticipated capture of the Rock Island (Illinois)-based U.S. House district, "Tea Party Republican" Bobby Schilling is poised to make a political comeback — in the open 2nd District in Iowa.
Sources close to the former congressman and conservative swashbuckler, who relocated from Illinois to Iowa in 2017, say he has been sounding out area party leaders about a possible comeback.
The same sources told Newsmax that Schilling, a father of 10 and owner of a family pizza parlor, is "98 percent certain" of running for the seat of retiring Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Ill.
A small businessman who got genuinely upset at Washington, first-time candidate Schilling mobilized the growing local Tea Party movement and upset Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill. Two years later, following Democratic-crafted redistricting, Schilling was unseated by Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill. (now the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee).
Since 1900, only once has a congressman from one state gone on to win a seat in another state. That was Republican Ed Foreman, who was elected to the House from Texas in 1962 and defeated in '64. He later moved to New Mexico and in 1968, won a House seat. In 1970, Foreman was again unseated after one term.
On paper, the 2nd District is considered Democratic; however, with the support of its large blue-collar population, President Donald Trump carried the 2nd comfortably in '16.
"The outcome in this race should reflect the outcome of the 2020 presidential race," former Polk County (Des Moines) Chairman Kim Schmett told Newsmax. "If Trump continues to appeal to blue collar union Democrats and carries Iowa again, there is a high probability this seat will flip to the GOP. If the president can't duplicate his 2016 results in the state, it will be a tough night for Republicans."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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