Teri Davis Newman, one of the
RFT's
Ask A Cougar! columnist competition
also-ran, says she
won the
GOP primary in
Illinois' Twelfth Congressional District last week with less than $2,000.
And now Newman says
fiscal responsibility will figure big in her platform this year as she tries to oust
Rep. Jerry Costello in the November election. "We need lower taxes, we need to stop borrowing money we don't have, we need to educate our kids so they can get ahead, and we need to kick out illegals that are sucking up social services in a huge way. I mean, look at California! What part of 'illegal' do these people not understand?!"
Reeow!
Newman says she and her fellow conservative challenger,
Theresa Kormos, had "a ladies' agreement" not to get too catty during the primary. (Though Kormos did
raise the, uh, cougar issue once or twice...)
But now Newman is sharpening her nails in the fight against Costello,
a Congressman for more than two decades. "I think I just might pull this off," she confides. "I've talked to about a thousand people -- I know this because I had a thousand business cards -- and of all the people I talked to, I think six had something nice to say about Jerry. The rest of them are like, 'He's scum! Beat him!'"
Newman plans to hire a campaign manager, but otherwise doesn't expect the stumpin' life to change much from primary season. She has a roster of brides lined up for her wedding planning business....just in case.