In the final days before the Nov. 2 election, Democrats and Republicans are leaning on party heavyweights, energizing their bases and looking for swing voters in the high-profile races for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and Illinois governor.
Democrats have more work to do than Republicans to energize their base, but both sides need to sway independent and swing voters, said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of politics at the University of Illinois-Springfield.
While Republicans are charged up ideologically, some Democrats aren't happy with Obama because they've been hurt by the slumping economy, are dissatisfied with his progress on gay rights or think he settled for too little change in health care reform, Redfield said.
Redfield's comments were featured in an October 26, 2010, article by the Associated Press.
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