Andrea Zinga
Encyclopedia
Andrea Lane Zinga is a former television reporter, and was twice the Republican
nominee for Congress in .
and is a graduate of Macomb High School. She has a Bachelors Degree in Education from Western Illinois University
and a Masters Degree in communications from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
.
-- WQAD-TV
, KWQC-TV
(while it was still WOC-TV) and WHBF-TV
. She also worked for three years at CNN
, CNN Headline News
and The Airport Channel (a CNN network provided exclusively to airports). While at CNN, Zinga was the first anchor to report the breaking story of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing
on July 27, 1996 http://www.andrealanezinga.com/meetandrea/bio.html. For this she earned a national Emmy.
Lane Evans
. Zinga stirred controversy by using Evans' health as a campaign issue, stating that he suffered seriously enough from Parkinson's Disease to put his efficacy in question. These statements did not sit well with the local media and many voters in the district, who felt this amounted to "kicking a man when he is down." She ended up taking 39% of the vote (111,615 votes), due largely to the district's Democratic lean, Evans's strong name recognition and Zinga's largely underfunded candidacy.
, was picked to be the Democratic candidate to face Zinga in November. Hare defeated Zinga by 14 points. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/IL/H/17/index.html
Zinga opposes gun control
and strongly supports the American effort in Iraq in the context of the larger war on terrorism. She is pro-life but supports exceptions to protect the life of the mother and in the cases of rape and incest if reported within 72 hours http://www.andrealanezinga.com/issues/#ISSUES. Zinga believes the warrantless wiretapping dispute should be settled in the courts.
Zinga has expressed support for racial profiling and felt that Middle Eastern men should get secondary security screenings as they board airplanes. Zinga said of terrorists, "They're like cockroaches. They're everywhere, and we can stamp and stamp in a million places and we're still going to be dealing with them." http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/95656.asp
Zinga had been endorsed by the Peoria Journal Star
for the 17th Congressional District http://www.pjstar.com/stories/101406/END_BB5JD6CP.058.shtml and the Quincy Herald-Whig.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for Congress in .
Personal history
Zinga was born and raised in Macomb, IllinoisMacomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg. The population was 18,588 at the 2000 census. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.- Geography :...
and is a graduate of Macomb High School. She has a Bachelors Degree in Education from Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
and a Masters Degree in communications from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
.
Career in television
Zinga has been a radio and television reporter and anchorwoman for all three television stations in the Quad CitiesQuad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
-- WQAD-TV
WQAD-TV
WQAD-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Quad Cities area of West-Central Illinois and Eastern Iowa that is licensed to Moline, Illinois...
, KWQC-TV
KWQC-TV
KWQC-TV, virtual channel 6 , is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Quad Cities television market . It is licensed to Davenport and is owned by Young Broadcasting...
(while it was still WOC-TV) and WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV, channel 4, is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, which serves as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities television market...
. She also worked for three years at CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
and The Airport Channel (a CNN network provided exclusively to airports). While at CNN, Zinga was the first anchor to report the breaking story of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing
Centennial Olympic Park bombing
The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
on July 27, 1996 http://www.andrealanezinga.com/meetandrea/bio.html. For this she earned a national Emmy.
2004 Congressional race
Zinga ran for Congress in the 17th District in 2004 against 11-term incumbent DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Lane Evans
Lane Evans
Lane Allen Evans is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois...
. Zinga stirred controversy by using Evans' health as a campaign issue, stating that he suffered seriously enough from Parkinson's Disease to put his efficacy in question. These statements did not sit well with the local media and many voters in the district, who felt this amounted to "kicking a man when he is down." She ended up taking 39% of the vote (111,615 votes), due largely to the district's Democratic lean, Evans's strong name recognition and Zinga's largely underfunded candidacy.
2006 Congressional race
Zinga won a highly contested primary on March 21, 2006 defeating Jim Mowen and Brian Gilliland. She garnered 42 percent of the vote, winning by 325 votes. http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/06/il_17_surprise_open-seat_race.html. Zinga was going to be facing Evans again in 2006. However, Evans announced his retirement and withdrawal from the race after the March primary, because of the increasingly debilitating effects of Parkinson's Disease. After a vote by Democratic precinct committeemen from the 17th congressional district, Evans' district director, Phil HarePhil Hare
Philip G. "Phil" Hare is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, was picked to be the Democratic candidate to face Zinga in November. Hare defeated Zinga by 14 points. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/IL/H/17/index.html
Zinga opposes gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
and strongly supports the American effort in Iraq in the context of the larger war on terrorism. She is pro-life but supports exceptions to protect the life of the mother and in the cases of rape and incest if reported within 72 hours http://www.andrealanezinga.com/issues/#ISSUES. Zinga believes the warrantless wiretapping dispute should be settled in the courts.
Zinga has expressed support for racial profiling and felt that Middle Eastern men should get secondary security screenings as they board airplanes. Zinga said of terrorists, "They're like cockroaches. They're everywhere, and we can stamp and stamp in a million places and we're still going to be dealing with them." http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/95656.asp
Zinga had been endorsed by the Peoria Journal Star
Peoria Journal Star
The Journal Star is the major daily newspaper for Peoria, Illinois and surrounding area. First owned locally, then employee-owned, it became a Copley-owned entity in 1996. In 2007, the paper was sold to Fairport, New York-based GateHouse Media.-History:...
for the 17th Congressional District http://www.pjstar.com/stories/101406/END_BB5JD6CP.058.shtml and the Quincy Herald-Whig.
Electoral history
- 2004 17th District Congressional race
- Lane EvansLane EvansLane Allen Evans is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois...
(D) 61% - 172,320 votes - Andrea Zinga (R) 39% - 111,680 votes
- Lane Evans
- 2006 17th District Republican Congressional primary
- Andrea Zinga 42.1% - 13,287 votes
- Jim Mowen 41.2% - 12,962 votes
- Brian Gilliland 16.7% - 5,241 votes
- 2006 17th District Congressional race
- Phil HarePhil HarePhilip G. "Phil" Hare is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
(D) 57.21% - 114,638 votes - Andrea Zinga (R) 42.79% - 85,734 votes http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2006/general/by_state/us_house/IL.html?SITE=ILCHTELN&SECTION=POLITICS
- Phil Hare