Ex-Clinton Aides in Tight Congressional Primary

Rahm Emanuel is using all the political skills he honed as an operative for President Clinton--from tireless campaigning to slick television ads and high-powered endorsements--in the final days of a tight Democratic primary race for Congress.

But that may not be enough to overcome a well-financed former state lawmaker who’s won her own share of national endorsements in a multimillion-dollar battle that also features another ex-Clinton aide.

A recent poll of voters in the diverse district on this city’s far North Side showed Emanuel in a dead heat with former state Rep. Nancy Kaszak as Tuesday’s primary election nears.

“It’s very competitive,” Kaszak said at Saturday’s St. Patrick Day parade. “But the key thing is that we’re going to pull it off on Tuesday because we have a tremendous number of community people who are knocking on doors, sending notes to their neighbors, calling them up on the phone and saying you’ve gotta come out on Tuesday to vote.”

About 50 yards away Emanuel was surrounded by supporters and wearing a green bowler as he prepared to march in the parade. He expressed confidence as long as the verdict came down to “my agenda versus her agenda.”

“I feel very good about our chances,” he said. “I feel very good about the response I’m getting from voters all over the district.”

The district runs from the lakefront west to blue collar neighborhoods surrounding O’Hare International Airport, and it’s impossible to go more than a few blocks without seeing signs for Kaszak, Emanuel and former Clinton aide Pete Dagher.

The candidates also have been blanketing the airwaves with commercials--often negative--and stuffing mail boxes throughout the district with glossy pamphlets.

Emanuel and Dagher are among about a dozen veterans of the Clinton administration running for prominent political offices this year, including former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich, ex-Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and Erskine Bowles, a former White House chief of staff.

Tuesday’s primary will be the first time voters have the chance to decide on any of the candidates.

U.S. Rep. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, is vacating the seat to run for governor. The district leans heavily Democratic and the winner of the primary is expected to be the odds-on favorite against the Republican candidate in the general election.

While some former members of the Clinton administration rarely mention Clinton on the campaign trail, the 42-year-old Emanuel has embraced Clinton’s legacy and touted his work in the White House.