rssMark Kirk Drops Out of Illinois Senate Race
Friday, July 10, 2009 at 4:02 pm
- 3 Comments
Chris Cillizza has the scoop:
Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will not run for the open seat of Sen. Roland Burris (D) in 2010, a stunning reversal from just 48 hours ago when Kirk signaled to National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) that he would make the race.
As we noted yesterday, when Burris decided to retire he created a much easier primary race for the Democrats. Cillizza reports that GOP state party chairman Andy McKenna is the new favorite for the nomination, but he lacks Kirk’s base in Democratic-trending suburban Cook County, and he lacks the war chest that Kirk had assembled. A Republican pick-up in President Obama’s home state just got much less likely.
It’s possible for Republicans to make Senate gains in 2010—they have solid candidates in every open seat race, they could pose real challenges in Colorado and Delaware, and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) is taking a while to recover from his financial troubles. But the possibility of the party seriously whittling down the Democratic majority in a way that could lead to a 2012 takeover is dimming.
Follow David Weigel on Twitter
3 Comments
Comment posted July 11, 2009 @ 5:31 am
I hope its Jesse Jackson Jr vs. Alan Keyes or that old Bears coach.
Comment posted July 11, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
What are the odds that the new candidates will be African-American? Is Jesse Jackson “in the clear” regarding the potential Blago situation. I personally believe that Roland was given a “pass” provided he did not run in 2010. Had a Special Election been held this winter/spring, Mark Kirk would have won and the seat would have been lost to the Dems. Don't ever think that all this positioning done by Durbin, the Governor of Illinois as well as Madigan was coincidence… Burris was never going to resign and there never was going to be a perjury charge. The Dems needed that Burris vote and it would have been political suicide to kick him out. If you notice in outh Carolina and Nevada, If Mark Sanford resigns, a Republican would replace him and the same is true in Nevada with respect to Ensign. Politicians do know where there bread is buttered.
Comment posted July 11, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
pardon my typos – that's “South Carolina” and “their” and not “there”
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
