2008Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsSpecial election
2008 special election for Illinois's 14th District
U.S. House · Illinois
Bill Foster (D) won with 52.5% of the vote, defeating Jim Oberweis (R) by 5.1 points, flipping a seat Republicans held.
Bill FosterDemocrat · winner
52.5%52,205
Jim OberweisRepublican
47.5%47,180
99,385 votes
Source: Federal Election CommissionUpdated Oct 3, 2026, 3:20 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2008
Races before and after
Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)
Polls against the result
- Poll with Foster ahead
- Poll with Oberweis ahead
- Result
| Pollster | Dates | Sample | Foster | Oberweis | Margin | Adjusted | Miss vs result | Grade | Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | Mar 3 | 517 | 52 | 45 | D+7 | — | +1.9 | A | Wikipedia |
| McLaughlin & AssociatesR-sponsored | Mar 1 | 550 | 45 | 47 | R+2 | — | −7.1 | C− | Wikipedia |
| Global Strategy GroupD-sponsored | Feb 23 | 402 | 45 | 41 | D+4 | — | −1.1 | C | Wikipedia |
| Global Strategy GroupD-sponsored | Feb 8 | 525 | 43 | 45 | R+2 | — | −7.1 | C | Wikipedia |
Adjusted: after correcting for the pollster's house effect and likely-voter screens. Miss: the poll's margin minus the result; + means the poll leaned Democratic. Grade: the pollster's accuracy in past elections, A+ to D (pollster ratings).
Source: Each poll's release, via FiveThirtyEight poll listsUpdated Mar 3, 2008