In fight for Illinois Senate seat, both sides already dealing blows
The Illinois Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama stands a decent chance of going to a Republican, analysts say. Primary voters on Tuesday selected Rep. Mark Kirk (R) to vie against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D).
Congressman Mark Kirk greets the crowd in Wheeling, Ill. as he accepts the Republican nomination to run for the US Senate seat, on Tuesday.
Lois Bernstein / AP
Chicago
The stage is set for a fierce battle over Barack Obama’s old Senate seat.
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Rep. Mark Kirk, a moderate Republican, won Illinois’s primary Tuesday in the Senate race. He is hoping to reenact Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts and take the seat from Democrats in November.
His opponent is Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois treasurer and a friend of Mr. Obama, who beat back a growing challenge from David Hoffman.
While a number of states, including Nevada, Delaware, and Arkansas, show potential for shifting the Senate landscape and ceding seats to Republicans, Illinois’s race is particularly personal for the White House.
The seat is currently held by Roland Burris (D), who took office after Obama vacated the seat to become president. Mr. Burris’s appointment by ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was mired in controversy.
The loss of the seat to Republicans in this solidly Democratic-leaning state would be heralded by the GOP as a major coup.
'Out of touch' vs. 'corrupt'
Already, each side in the race is taking shots at the other.
Mr. Giannoulias, in his victory speech, sought to portray Representative Kirk as out of touch with the electorate. He cited an old Kirk quote about unemployment not being a big issue in his district, adding, “It’s obvious that you’ve spent too many years in Washington, voting with the special interests to ship our jobs overseas…. But come November, Congressman, your days as a Washington insider are over.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, meanwhile, has already released a Web ad trying to connect Giannoulias to former Governor Blagojevich (awaiting trial for fraud), Tony Rezko, and the Mob. “Alexi Giannoulias: He’d make Tony Soprano proud,” the ad concludes.
Problems at Giannoulias's family bank, which last week agreed to tougher government oversight and was described as “undercapitalized” by regulators, are also likely to be a liability for Giannoulias. Giannoulias worked as a loan officer there before becoming state treasurer.
