Illinois Senate Fitzgerald was first elected to the
Illinois Senate in 1992. He was a member of a group of conservative state senators elected in 1992. They often challenged the leadership of the
Illinois Republican Party and were dubbed the "Fab Five." The group also included
Steve Rauschenberger,
Dave Syverson,
Patrick O'Malley, and
Chris Lauzen.
1994 congressional bid Fitzgerald challenged long-time incumbent Republican congressman
Phil Crane in the 1994 Republican primary for
Illinois' 8th congressional district. In a multi-candidate field, Fitzgerald lost to Crane 40% to 33%.
1998 senatorial campaign Fitzgerald announced his intention to challenge one-term
Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator
Carol Moseley Braun in the 1998 election. He faced
Illinois Comptroller Loleta Didrickson in the Republican primary. Didrickson had the support of the state Republican party, including Governor
Jim Edgar and former Republican presidential nominee
Bob Dole, who served as her national campaign chairman. A hard-fought
primary ensued, and Fitzgerald narrowly defeated the establishment candidate, becoming the Republican nominee. Despite great support from Republicans and Independents, he had alienated some of the party establishment during the primary. Meanwhile, Braun was helped by notable Democrats such as
First Lady Hillary Clinton and U.S. Congressman
Luis V. Gutierrez; final polling had the candidates running even. Fitzgerald defeated Moseley Braun in the general election by a 2.9% margin. He was the first Republican in Illinois to win a U.S. Senate race in 20 years and the only Republican challenger in the country to defeat an incumbent Democratic senator in the
1998 election cycle.
U.S. Senate tenure George W. Bush on
Air Force One in 2002 Fitzgerald had two major moments in the spotlight in the
United States Senate, the first in 2000 when he
filibustered a massive federal spending bill because it included funds for the
Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. He accused Republican governor
George Ryan, who later served a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence on a corruption conviction, of opposing competitive bidding so he could dole money to political allies, saying "I want Illinois to get a $150 million (Abraham Lincoln) library, not a $50 million library that just happens to cost $150 million." His second major moment was following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when Congress quickly passed a massive bailout measure for most of the major airlines, which were in trouble financially. Standing alone out of all members of the U.S. Senate, Fitzgerald delivered a speech, "Who will bail out the American taxpayer", arguing that the airlines would simply go through the money and remain financially unstable. The bill passed 96–1. Fitzgerald was staunchly conservative on such issues as
opposition to abortion (except to save the life of the mother),
gay marriage, and taxes, but on some issues he broke with his conservative colleagues, particularly environmental issues; he opposed drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge throughout his tenure in the U.S. Senate. Fitzgerald also supported "reasonable"
gun control,
immigration reform, and the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation. Throughout his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Fitzgerald battled with the state Republican Party leadership. He insisted on the appointment of an out-of-state
U.S. Attorney,
Patrick Fitzgerald (unrelated) to investigate corruption in the Illinois state government. Though state party officials wanted a "friendly" attorney for Illinois, Fitzgerald insisted on someone who did not have friends or enemies in the Illinois government. Several indictments resulted, including that of former Republican
Governor George Ryan, who was eventually convicted of several criminal
abuses of authority, and Democratic
Governor Rod Blagojevich, who many years later was convicted of attempting to sell the
Senate seat vacated by Fitzgerald's successor and future
President Barack Obama. The scandal was seen as ensuring Illinois' reputation as one of the most politically corrupt states. When the Republican establishment made clear that they would not support him for reelection, Fitzgerald announced he would retire at the end of his current term. Republicans nominated businessman
Jack Ryan for the seat in the primaries. However, Ryan was later pressured by the Illinois Republican Party to withdraw because of publicity received from the contents of his previously-sealed divorce case. Fitzgerald stood by Ryan and supported him, despite the pressure from the media and the Illinois Republican party on Ryan to withdraw. Just 86 days before the election, the party drafted Maryland native
Alan Keyes as the nominee. Keyes was accused of "
carpetbagging," and was defeated by
Barack Obama by more than 40 percent of the vote. It has been stated that Fitzgerald, who was popular among independents, stood the best chance of retaining the seat and defeating Obama, who went on to win the presidential election just four years later. ==Post-political career==