1986 IL-14th Congressional Election

Here Hastert got a chance to run because the incumbent—John Grotberg's—Health had deteriorated from Cancer, forcing him to resign the nomination before eventually passing.

Seen as insufficiently conservative at the time, then State Senator Hastert received the nomination by the party, which combined with the death of Grotberg allowed Kearns an unprecedented opportunity to capture a safely republican seat.

But still, despite holding Hasterteven in Suburban Kane county, she was unable to overcome the district's fundamentally republican lean—allowing Hastert to start a career in the house which ended in 2007