Alex Seith

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Alex Seith was the 1978 Democratic nominee for the United States Senate from Illinois. A complete newcomer to electoral politics, he nearly pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Senate history when he narrowly lost to nationally renowned incumbent Republican Charles Percy.

Prior to running for the Senate, Seith's political career had been limited to appointed positions, including service on a regional santiary district board and, most notably, the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals. [1] Though at heart a mainstream member of the Democratic party, with associated positions on most issues, Seith's campaign emphasized his hard line positions in foreign policy.

Percy managed to salvage his office by means of a televised mea culpa in the final week of the campaign, but Seith's campaign may have been dealt a blow some days earlier, when popular Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mike Royko informed readers that Seith had served as a character witness in the trial of a mob figure some years earlier. [2]

Seith unuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1984,^{[citation needed]} but was defeated by Paul Simon who went on to beat Percy in the general election.