Elections 2012

The incumbent for an Illinois Senate seat in western Illinois is John Sullivan (D-Rushville). He is completing his third term in the Senate.

Sullivan said progress has been made during his time in the Legislature but there is more to do, which is why he is running for a fourth term.

Sullivan said NTN Bower in Macomb and Farmland Foods in Monmouth have expanded while he's been in office and Pella brought a new plant to Macomb. He said the state offers job creation incentives and he's worked to make sure some of that money has come to his district.

The challenger for an Illinois Senate seat in western Illinois is Randy Frese (R-Paloma). He is completing his second term as Adams County Circuit Clerk.

Frese said he is running for the Senate because state leaders are squandering opportunities for future generations, including his three daughters.

"We are just tremendously over our heads in debt in this state. There is not an area you can turn to that isn't getting paid or is backlogged for their payment. It's terrible," Frese said. "It's sad to see what's happening to the state of Illinois."

NPR News is offering a live chat for the final presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. This final debate is being moderated by Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS News and Moderator of Face the Nation. The debate is taking place at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL. The chat will be open during the day Monday for comments prior to the debate, and will remain open for live comments during the debate. Make your comments, or just follow the conversation, below.

Election Day is less than three weeks away, but there will be no rush to the polls for thousands of Lee County residents.

This week on Campaign Trails, Janna Deitz and Keith Boeckelman talk about the differences between campaigning for president and governing as president.

Boeckelman is Chair of the Western Illinois University Political Science Department. Deitz teaches in the department, and she spent much of the past year in Washington DC participating in the American Political Science Association’s Congressional Fellowship Program. As part of the program, Deitz served in office of US Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), giving her a first-hand look at how Congress works.

As part of their special coverage of the 2012 Elections, NPR News hosted a live chat during the Vice Presidential Debate. Joe Biden and Paul Ryan met at Centre College in Danville, KY for this debate. You can still look through the conversation below.

This week on Campaign Trails, panelists Tom Sadler and Bill Polley examine the economic policies of President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Sadler and Polley both teach in the Department of Economics and Decision Sciences at Western Illinois University. Both have studied the candidates’ policies closely and, in fact, Sadler spoke on behalf of President Obama and Polley spoke on behalf of Governor Romney during a mock debate at WIU on October 9.

NPR provided a live chat during the first Presidential debate of this election season, if you missed the conversation Wednesday night you can still look through and see what people had to say, below...

The presidential campaign made its way to southeast Iowa for the second time in the last month.

Southeast Iowa voters who do not want to wait for Election Day have started casting their ballots.  There are no restrictions on who can vote early.