Jacobs hits the right tone in post victory remarks

During the campaign, Mike Jacobs struck many as pompous, a bit arrogant, and prone to going over the top, blowing his own horn in an often off-putting way. Many had expressed their hopes that if Jacobs won the primary as expected, given the way he was installed in office and his numorous rookie misteps and gaffes, he might at least muster a little well justified humility.

Though he still shows that it's hard for him to stay out of self-hype mode for long even while celebrating his first election to office, Jacobs does display some long awaited humility and grace in this piece by the Dispatch/Argus' Kurt Allemeier.

For those who have waited so long to hear a glimmer of realization that he really is amazingly fortunate to find himself where he is, it comes as better late than never.

Rural counties carried the day for Mike Jacobs in the Democratic primary for state senate District 36, he told supporters Tuesday.

Mr. Jacobs, appointed to the seat last February when his father, Denny Jacobs, retired, won the nomination with 56 percent of the vote. He faces Republican James Beals, of Moline, in November's general election.

According to unofficial final results districtwide, Mr. Jacobs finished with 8,280 votes to challenger Paul Rumler's 6,511.

He admitted that internal polls had him trailing by 10 percent 10 days before the primary.

"You can read anything you want into the numbers," he said. "In a Democratic primary, 52-48 is a landslide. We began to work the streets; we beat them in the precincts. People were really attracted to my message."

He pointed to his work on a riverfront campus for Western Illinois University and drawing additional education funding to the district as what tipped the voters' pens in his favor.

He dismissed the close race with newcomer Mr. Rumler, who lacked the financial support of Mr. Jacobs.

"Paul had seven months to knock on doors while I was in Springfield," he said, "and I had some baggage coming in. Hopefully that baggage is behind me."

He praised voters in Henry, Mercer, Whiteside, and Carroll counties for supporting him and pointed to his record on agricultural issues for their support.

"I do have the highest Farm Bureau rating in the state and I supported ethanol production," he said.

He praised Mr. Rumler for his hard work and hard-fought campaign and reached out to him, wanting to meet with his foe and possibly work together.

Mr. Jacobs said he's had tough political shoes to fill, following the footsteps of his father as well as his grandfather, Orel "Jake" Jacobs, who served in the state House of Representatives. He also said he learned from both: from his grandfather to fight for the underdog, and from his father to stand up for what he believes in.

"Hopefully, now people will just think of me as Mike," he told supporters at a raucous gathering at the East Moline American Legion hall.

Several local elected officials were on hand for Mr. Jacobs' party, including Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, who was unchallenged in his primary, Rock Island County State's Attorney Jeff Terronez, and members of the staffs of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Rock Island.

Most of all, Mr. Jacobs thanked his family, from his parents to his sisters and brothers, and his wife, Beth, and son Elliott. Elliott, who wasn't on hand to hear his father's victory speech, was worried when the early numbers that weren't favorable to his father came in.

Am I the only one amazed to find out that Jacobs was polling 10 points down 10 days out from the election? That explains a lot.

Congratulations to Sen. Jacobs, his family and supporters on his win. He's now officially an elected official and no one can take that away from him. And I'm sure that now that he's punched that ticket and shrugged that very large monkey off his back, he can go on to prove skeptics wrong and earn our support.