Congratulations to Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who came in first, with 22% of the vote, and gets the Democratic nomination (in an overwhelmingly Democratic district) to succeed Rahm Emanuel as Representative from the 5th District of Illinois.

Tom Geoghegan, often mentioned here, finished in 7th place with 6% of the vote. After the jump, the email he just sent out to supporters.

As I've said all along, I don't know the politics of the district but I do know that Geoghegan is an outstanding voice and thinker in contemporary politics. If his run for Congress, unsuccessful at this stage, call more attention to his books and outlook, it will have done some good. And having some idea of how hard it is to run for any political office, my heart is with just about anyone who gives it a try. (Just about....)
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Email from Geoghegan for Congress:

Dear Friend, I want to thank you for all your help and support. Unfortunately, we came up short tonight, but that was not a reflection on your efforts.

Two months ago, I launched this campaign because I was greatly concerned with the growing economic contraction and the impact it was having on working Americans. I wanted, as my former law-partner Leon Depres said, simply to make politics my law practice.

I am astounded at what we've accomplished in just two short months. We raised over $325,000, put together an operation that reached thousands with phone calls and knocked doors. You made a relatively unknown labor lawyer a contender.

Most importantly, we helped influence the political debate of this country. We pushed Democrats to understand we don't need to save Social Security, we need to raise it to a livable public pension. We can have a single-payer universal health care system. We must stop the bailouts, nationalize insolvent institutions, and cut interest on credit cards to begin getting people out of debt.

It is time for a new progressivism and I'm determined to help bring it about. So, I thank you once again for all your help and support. This isn't an end, it's just a beginning.

Thank you, Tom