Christine Cegelis is the acting Assistant Director of Central Management Services for the State of Illinois and was the 2004 Democratic

Democratic 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...

 candidate for the 6th Congressional district

Illinois' 6th congressional district

The 6th congressional district of Illinois includes parts of DuPage and Cook counties, and has been represented by Republican Peter Roskam since January 2007.-Voting:-List of representatives:-References:* -External links:**...

 of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. She ran in the Democratic primary for the same seat in 2006 and lost to former Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

 Tammy Duckworth

Tammy Duckworth

Ladda Tammy Duckworth was formerly Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and formerly the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran and former U.S...

. Many Democrats, including Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...

 supported Duckworth over Cegelis in the 2006 primary by sending fundraising letters on Duckworth's behalf during the primary. http://hill6.thehill.com/campaign-2008/cegelis-duckworth-in-pre-primary-maneuvers-2005-12-06.html

In 2004, Cegelis received 44.2% of the vote against U.S. Representative Henry Hyde

Henry Hyde

Henry John Hyde , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago's northwestern suburbs which included O'Hare International Airport...

, a sixteen-term incumbent. This was more than any challenger had received since Hyde's first run for Congress in 1974. In 2005, Hyde announced that he would retire at the end of his next term. Cegelis' strong showing is seen as largely due to the increasingly diverse demographics

Demographics

Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 of DuPage County

DuPage County, Illinois

As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...

.

Electoral history

• 2004 Congressional race 6th district
  • Henry Hyde
    Henry Hyde
    Henry John Hyde , an American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago's northwestern suburbs which included O'Hare International Airport...
    
     (R) 55.8%
  • Christine Cegelis (D) 44.2%

• 2006 Democratic Primary 6th district
  • L. Tammy Duckworth 44%
  • Christine Cegelis 40%
  • Lindy Scott 16%

External links

• Christine Cegelis website
• The Democratic Party of DuPage County website
• Peter Savodnik, "Cegelis, Duckworth in pre-primary maneuvers", The Hill, December 6, 2005
• Matt Renner, "Democratic House Officials Recruited Wealthy Conservatives", truthout.org, September 6, 2007