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Team B for Illinois and Delaware
Thanks to Tuesday's presidential election, Congress is now two Senators short of a full house. Here's some early grapevine on who's in the running to fill the Illinois and Delaware Senate seats being vacated by the President-elect and his running mate.In the Prairie State, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich will name Sen. Barack Obama's replacement -- that is, if the embattled governor, who is being investigated for corruption, manages to hold onto office. Mr. Blagojevich briefly flirted with the idea of creating a special commission to help make his pick, but appears to have abandoned the idea. The governor has made clear he's in no hurry, and may not announce anything before Christmas. Prominent Illinois politicians have been lobbying for the position for months, including Chicago Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, or Evanston Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Mr. Obama will have some input and both Mr. Jackson and Ms. Schakowsky were heavily active in his campaign. Another person who gets a lot of mention is Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraqi war vet and unsuccessful House candidate in 2006 who works in the Blagojevich administration. The governor could also use the pick to shore up his own political position, appointing either Comptroller Dan Hynes or Attorney General Lisa Madigan -- both potential Democratic rivals for his seat in 2010. He could also, for that matter, appoint himself. Over in Delaware, it isn't even yet clear who will do the appointing. Joe Biden has suggested he's in no hurry to relinquish his seat, so the task might fall to incoming Democratic Governor Jack Markell, rather than outgoing Democratic Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Rumors indicate the Delaware political establishment is coalescing around the idea of appointing a placeholder who would carry the seat until 2010, when Mr. Biden's son, Attorney General Beau Biden, could run for the Senate. Among those mentioned are Lt. Gov. John Carney, Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele, former state Rep. Robert Byrd, or Secretary of State Harriet Smith Windsor. Posted by: Fred 2008-11-10 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=254811 |