E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Democrats brace for another Senate blow
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Republicans, emboldened by a recent Senate victory in Massachusetts, are preparing themselves to occupy yet another Democratic seat: This time in President Barack Obama's state, Illinois.

Illinois for long has been a Democratic domain, but Republicans think they can capitalize once more on the public dismay with Democrats that they think are responsible for Scott Brown's capturing of the late Edward Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts in January.

Opinion polls ahead of Tuesday's party primaries in Illinois suggested that Mark Kirk, a moderate five-term Republican House member, may snap up the Senate seat very easily.
Kirk is a near-RINO on social issues but is good on defense and terrorism.
Kirk's Democratic rival is Alexi Giannoulias, state Treasurer and once a senior lending officer at Broadway Bank.
Which his family owns, and needed a bailout, and is rumored to be 'connected'.
"The Democratic candidates are second-tier. They're not particularly exciting, not particularly experienced," Reuters quoted DePaul University political analyst Michael Mezey as saying.

Kirk, 50, is the likely GOP contender to emerge Tuesday. He is seen as a reputable, well-funded nominee, a Navy Reserve officer who has done two tours in Afghanistan and who can withstand the pressure from a Democratic White House.

Giannoulias, 32, has secured himself about a third of the vote, according to an independent survey. However, his party colleagues are concerned about his lack of experience and the fact that he has failed to acquire a commanding lead over his rivals.

"The Illinois seat is going to be top of the Republican priority list, not for symbolic reasons that it's Obama's home state, but because it's one of the most likely seats for them to win," said political analyst Dick Simpson of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

During the past 40 years, Illinois has sent seven Democrats and two Republicans to the Senate. Democrats govern all major statewide offices and sustain the majority in both houses of the Illinois legislature.
Posted by: Fred 2010-02-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=289367