Hastert to retire

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will announce his plans to retire from Congress after 11 terms of service on Friday, according to sources familiar with the announcement.  

It is unclear whether Hastert, the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history, will retire after serving out his current term or whether he will leave Congress prematurely. The distinction is important given that the latter would cause a potentially expensive mid-year runoff in a district that President Bush won by 55 percent, further straining the National Republican Congressional Campaign’s (NRCC) remaining deficit.

{mosads}Hastert was reelected with 59.7 percent of the vote last year, beating Democrat John Laesch despite his role in the Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) page scandal.

The NRCC declined to comment on whether Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) had discussed the details of his announcement, which Hastert has stated he will make on Friday, and deferred to the former Speaker to announce his plans.

In previous interviews, Cole has said he encouraged Hastert to stay in the House but added he would respect whatever his future decision might be.

While Hastert has brushed off insinuations that he is calling it a career, recent fundraising data tells a different story. After raising $290,000 in the first quarter, Hastert pulled in $150,000 in the second quarter — far less than the half-million dollars he raised in the second quarter of 2005.

Anticipating his departure, would-be GOP candidates have begun talking quietly about potential runs, while Democratic challengers prepare to position themselves as the most viable candidate.

On the Republican side, local operatives expect a battle between Illinois state Sen. Chris Lauzen and former Senate and gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis. Both candidates have filed paperwork that indicate that they would run if Hastert retires.

Neither is beloved by party officials or seen as a bulletproof candidate, but each has some strong suits.

Lauzen represents much of the district right now in the state Senate but isn’t well regarded by the Republican conference in Springfield. Oberweis is a repeat loser, having lost primaries in the 2006 race for governor and the 2002 and 2004 races for Senate, but he can self-fund in an expensive district.

Other names mentioned include Hastert Chief of Staff Mike Stokke (R). State Rep. Tim Schmitz (R) recently withdrew from consideration.

Democrats feel they can be competitive in the case of an open seat, as they were last cycle when Rep. Henry Hyde (R) retired in the neighboring 6th district.

One of their best hopes, state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, recently declined to run after forming an exploratory committee.

Three other Democrats are already in the race: businessman Bill Foster, attorney Jotham Stein and 2006 Hastert opponent Laesch.