- Alex Seith
Alex Seith was the
1978 Democratic nominee for theUnited States Senate fromIllinois . A complete newcomer to electoral politics, he nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Senate history when he narrowly lost to nationally renowned incumbent Republican Charles Percy.Prior to running for the Senate, Seith's political career had been limited to appointed positions, including service on a regional santiary district board and, most notably, the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals. [http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1977/ii771212.html] Though at heart a mainstream member of the Democratic party, with associated positions on most issues, Seith's campaign emphasized his hard line positions in
foreign policy .Percy managed to salvage his office by means of a televised "
mea culpa " in the final week of the campaign, but Seith's campaign may have been dealt a blow some days earlier, when popularChicago Sun-Times columnistMike Royko informed readers that Seith had served as acharacter witness in the trial of a mob figure some years earlier. [http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1979/ii790232.html]Seith unuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1984,Fact|date=June 2007 but was defeated by
Paul Simon who went on to beat Percy in the general election.
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