Republican Candidate Known As 'Meltdown Mike' Wins IL Congressional Seat Not Held By GOP in 70 Years

Your feel-good story of the day:

Republican candidate Mike Bost Tuesday won the U.S. House of Representative seat for Southern Illinois’ 12th Congressional District. Bost, a state representative since 1995, ousted Democratic incumbent Bill Enyart in a tightly contested race.

The Associated Press and other media outlets declared Bost the winner, with 55 percent of precincts reporting. Bost is the first Republican in 70 years to serve the 12-county area, the Belleville News Democrat newspaper noted.

Bost has a military background and is known for his “ impassioned speeches on the state House floor.” 

His opponent Enyart used footage of some of those tantrums in television ads, and dubbed Bost “Meltdown Mike”- not an unfair moniker in all honesty, given Bost’s serial outbursts on the State House floor.  The voters must have liked what they saw though, because Bost won the election in a district that has voted Democrat for the past 70 years.

Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ