John Laesch

Infobox Congressional Candidate
name = John Laesch


imagesize = 160px
candidate = U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois, 14th District
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1974|01|29
birth_place =Monrovia, Liberia
party = Democratic
alma_mater = Illinois State University
spouse = Jennifer Laesch
profession = Union Carpenter (Local 195)
website = [http://www.john08.com John08.com]

John Laesch (born January 29 1974 in Monrovia, Liberia) is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Illinois. His most recent race was in the 2008 Democratic primary election in Illinois' 14th congressional district. He was the 2006 Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative of the 14th District of Illinois, which he lost to Bill Foster (see Illinois's 14th congressional district special election, 2008). He ran against Republican incumbent Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House, who has announced he would not stand for reelection in 2008. Laesch is member of the Fighting Dems, former members of the U.S. Armed Forces who ran for election to the Congress in 2006.

Laesch was born in Liberia to missionary parents. A veteran of the United States Navy, he enlisted in 1995 and graduated first in his class from the Great Lakes Training Naval Center in 1996. He served as an intelligence analyst in the Middle East. [http://www.john08.com/bio.php Official biography] .] Following his honorable discharge from the military, Laesch earned a degree in history from Illinois State University.

Laesch has held various leadership roles in Democratic campaigns in his state. In 2004, Laesch served as the campaign manager for David Gill in Illinois' 15th congressional district.

Politics

In October 2006, Laesch's opponent, Dennis Hastert, was linked to the 2006 Mark Foley scandal, which may have influenced the election to Laesch's favor, but not enough to defeat Hastert. [cite web| title ="Hands on Hastert" is "hands off Foley"| publisher =John Laesch for Congress| date =2006-10-02| url =http://www.john06.com/node/299| archiveurl =http://web.archive.org/web/20061014170153/http://www.john06.com/node/299| archivedate =2006-10-14| accessdate= 2007-08-21] On November 7, Laesch lost in his bid to unseat Hastert, with Hastert winning 59.75% to Laesch's 40.25%. [cite news |author=Associated Press| authorlink=Associated Press| title =Unofficial AP results| work =Chicago Tribune| date =2006-11-28| url =http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2006/general/by_state/us_house/IL.html?SITE=ILCHTELN&SECTION=POLITICS 2006| accessdate =2007-08-21]

Laesch is employed as a union carpenter for Local 195. He works for progressive issues, cite web| last =Harkinson| first =Josh| title =Can Democrat John Laesch Take Down Hastert?| work =Mother Jones| date =2006-10-06| url =http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2006/10/laesch.html | accessdate =2007-08-21] and, in 2006, his candidacy was endorsed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the United Auto Workers (UAW), the AFL-CIO, and the Democratic Advancement PAC (Dapac), among other organizations. He frequently posts messages on the Daily Kos blog, and in his free time he enjoys biking, fishing, and working on the family farm.

On May 26, 2007, Laesch announced his candidacy for the 2008 Illinois 14th District Democratic Congressional nomination in an online video blog interview with Howie Klein. [cite web| last =Klein| first =Howie| authorlink =Howie Klein| title =Blue America Live Vlog with John Laesch| work =Firedoglake| publisher =| date =2007-05-26| url =http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/05/26/blue-america-live-vlog-with-john-laesch/| accessdate =2007-08-21]

ee also

References

External links

* [http://john08.com/ Official website for Laesch 2008 campaign]
* [http://www.fighting-dems.com/ The Fighting Dems]
* [http://www.dccc.org/races/candidates/IL_14_Jonathan_Laesch.html John Laesch] Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee bio
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Laesch SourceWatch Congresspedia - John Laesch]
* [http://www.dapac.org/component/option,com_contact/task,view/contact_id,45/Itemid,46/ DAPAC website for Laesch]