The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged Mark Kirk

Senate Races to Watch for Immigration Policy

By | 11.02.10 | 3:22 pm

Today’s elections will almost certainly make it harder for Congress to push through progressive agenda items such as comprehensive immigration reform. Although a lot of the changes will be broad — more Republicans will mean more arguments for border security and enforcement and less support for paths to legalization — More…

Can Campaign Finance Reformers Work With Ken Buck or Rand Paul?

By | 11.02.10 | 2:43 pm

Most Republican candidates who might nab Senate seats tonight don’t look like such good friends of the campaign finance reform community on the surface, but might a few end up lending a sympathetic ear to the cause once in Washington? At least on the topic of donor disclosure, The Washington More…

Mobilizing Voters for the DREAM Act

By | 11.02.10 | 11:33 am

I’ve written a few times about lobbying efforts by supporters of the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow some undocumented students and military service members who came to the U.S. as children to gain legal status. After efforts to add the DREAM Act More…

Which Races Could Latinos Decide on Tuesday?

By | 10.27.10 | 5:20 pm

No one is quite sure how big an impact Latino voters will have on the upcoming elections. Polling early in the month pointed to low turnout among Latinos, who reported lower enthusiasm than voters overall for the Nov. 2 elections. There were reports that Latino voters More…

Unions Step Up Ground Game in Wake of Positive Poll Numbers for Senate Dems

By | 10.20.10 | 9:42 am

A new independent Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Tracker poll has confirmed that Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) is now leading former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) by a razor-thin margin in Pennsylvania’s Senate race. The news that the Pennsylvania Senate race is tightening comes at the same time as reports from Colorado and More…

Today’s Political Ad Watch: Giannoulias and Carnahan

By | 09.08.10 | 5:28 pm

As Obama’s approval rating has slipped beneath the 50 percent mark and stubbornly refused to climb back up, many candidates up for reelection in tight races or swing districts have suddenly discovered cute scheduling conflicts when the president has shown up in town to raise money from the party faithful. More…

Chamber Attacks Giannoulias, DSCC Projects Confidence

By | 08.04.10 | 1:07 pm

The Chamber of Commerce is ramping up its attacks on Democrats today. As part of its pledge to spend at least $50 million in the current election cycle, it has cut an ad that targets Illinois Democratic senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias.

The ad, which is airing today before More…

Club for Growth Reminds Mark Kirk of His Pledge

By | 03.30.10 | 4:02 pm

When I asked Mike Connolly of the Club for Growth what, exactly, could strip candidates who’d signed the Club’s “Repeal It” pledge of official support, Connolly suggested that repercussions couldn’t really happen until January 2011, when new members of Congress have a chance to introduce repeal legislation. If they More…

Poll: Democrat Bounces Back in IL-Sen Race

By | 03.10.10 | 1:46 pm

The Republican response to Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrats’ nominee for President Obama’s old Senate seat in Illinois, has been one of outright derision. As soon as he locked up his nomination last month, the NRSC blasted out a video tying Giannoulias to the scandals surrounding his family’s Broadway Bank; when More…

GOP Turnout Numbers in Illinois Look Good for Mark Kirk

By | 02.03.10 | 10:31 am

The numbers aren’t all in yet, but it looks like 885,268 people cast ballots in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Illinois, while 736,137 people cast ballots in the Republican primary. Illinois is one of a few states open registration states where voters can pick any ballot at the polls. More…