Mike Ditka: Obama Likely Wouldn’t be President if I Ran for Senator

Mike Ditka’s said President Obama may not have ascended to the presidency if the ex-Bears coach ran for Obama’s Illinois’ Senate seat in 2004. Ditka said it was the “biggest mistake” of his life.
Mike Ditka: Obama Likely Wouldn’t be President if I Ran for Senator
Mike Ditka attends the Packers vs. Bears 'Rivalry Cup' at Medinah Country Club on June 18, 2012 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images for 2012 Ryder Cup)
Jack Phillips
10/13/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

Mike Ditka’s said President Obama may not have ascended to the presidency if the ex-Bears coach ran for Obama’s Illinois’ Senate seat in 2004. Ditka said it was the “biggest mistake” of his life.

“Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and he wouldn’t be in the White House,” Ditka said, according to The Dickinson Press.

The Atlantic Wire reported that at the time, Obama had a 7-point lead of Ditka in a SurveyUSA poll if Ditka were to run.

Ditka, who won a Super Bowl coaching the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears team, eventually pulled out of the race. He also won a Super Bowl as a player.

He has described himself as “ultra-ultra-ultra conservative” in the past.

Obama won after Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan left the race after a sex scandal erupted.

At the time, Obama said of Ditka: “He’s enormously popular. I think if he gets in, he immediately becomes a favorite,” reported ABC.

Ditka gave Obama a Chicago Bears jersey with the number 85 on the back, which read “Obama” on the back during a White House visit.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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