No Contest

With the November election coming up next November, your LakeCountyEye is a firm believer that it is never too early to handicap the candidates. It's probably a tad premature to publish any point spreads this early in the game -- even for those who have distilled the craft down to a science. Of course, the secret to good handicapping is all in the numbers -- knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the field. To this end, your LakeCountyEye is keeping book on every relevant Lake County election contest. In the Eighth Congressional District the contest has firmed up as one between incumbent Melissa Bean and challenger Joe Walsh:

Candidate	Melissa Bean	Joe Walsh
Campaign Portrait w/Am. Flag
Party	Democratic	Tea Party Republican
Home	Barrington 10th Congressional District	Winnetka 10th Congressional District
Campaign Logo	Beanbag	Teabag
Takes Marching Orders from ...	Nancy Pelosi	Glenn Beck
Bankers	In the Pocket of	In the Foreclosure of Daily Herald
Comical Character with Similar Name	Mr Bean	Joe Walsh
Suits	T.J. Maxx	$20,000 Suit Filed by ex-Campaign Manager for Unpaid Wages Daily Herald
Miscellaneous	$50,000 Federal Grant for School Bus Safety in Gurnee	Thrown Under the Campaign Bus by NRCC Daily Herald

Whoa. Bean v Walsh won't even be close -- this one is ready to be called. Except the authorities have prevailed upon your LakeCountyEye to hold off on predictions until after the election. Apparently your LakeCountyEye's Feb 2 pre-election prognostications were good enough that very few primary voters actually bothered to show up at the polls.