Story posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Bean Will Have Challenger In November
Investment capital consultant Joe Walsh earned the chance to face off against Melissa Bean for the 8th Congressional District representative seat in November.
With all but three Cook County precincts reporting, Walsh earned 16,015 votes in the Republican primary. His closest competitor, Dirk Beveridge, received 11,577.
Other candidates were Maria Rodriguez with 9,719; Christopher Geissler with 4,232, John Dawson with 3,887, and Gregory Jacobs with 1,437.
Bean ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Walsh has run a privately funded school voucher program, and helped launch an effort to get fiscally conservative state legislators elected. He grew up in Barrington with eight siblings; he and his wife Helene have five children.
Walsh did not return a call for comment before press time. The State Board of Elections lists Walsh's current residence on Locust Road in Winnetka, out of the 8th District.
The 8th District includes parts of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Elk Grove Village in the Journal-area, as well as many municipalities to the west and north. It encompasses parts of Lake, Cook, and McHenry counties up to the Wisconsin state line.
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