Progress Illinois

In 2006, the race for the 10th Congressional District was marked by much speculation about whether the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would choose to bolster Dan Seals' challenge of incumbent GOP Rep. Mark Kirk. The substantial financial support some Dems had been hoping for never came. Nonetheless, Seals gave Kirk a run for his money that year -- losing by a relatively narrow six-point margin.

This year, the DCCC isn't so trigger-shy: on Thursday, they announced that they had added Seals to their "Red-to-Blue" list.

The Red-to-Blue program urges motivated Democratic fundraisers to support Democratic candidates in competitive congressional races around the country. In 2006, the program raised $26 million for 56 campaigns nationwide -- an average of more than $400,000 for each candidate on the list.