Melissa Bean’s people are getting nervous out there in Illinois. Bean is one of the CAFTA 15. I hear today that the Teamsters Joint Council in the district has endorsed a Republican in the primary, Robert Churchill. Six Republicans have lined up for the right to take on Bean.

The Teamsters are one of the few unions that is carrying through on its promise to try to take out Democrats who voted for the so-called “free trade” agreement. It’s kind of interesting that Bean’s re-election site carries only 2004 endorsements, including a list of unions that will likely be far more sparse in this election cycle.

And I hear that Bean’s people have nervously inquired whether the Teamsters endorsement in the Republican primary means that the union will endorse a Republican in the general election. The district went 56-44 for George Bush in the 2004 election, even though Bush did very little campaigning in Illinois–which John Kerry won comfortably. So, if labor sits on its hands in that district, Bean is probably toast.