IL-SEN

Public Poll Clashes With Kirk Internal Numbers in IL-Sen

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 4, 2010, 8:59AM

IL-SEN candidates Alexi Giannoulias (D) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R)

A new public poll shows the freshly-minted nominees for Senate in Illinois are running a tight race as the general election campaign begins in earnest. Yesterday, GOP nominee Mark Kirk released an internal poll showing him with a double-digit lead over Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias. But today's public poll from Rasmussen shows the race is much closer than that, with Kirk leading Giannoulias 46-40 with a margin of error of 4.5%.

Internal polls are often released by candidates in an attempt to influence the storyline of a race. Yesterday, the Kirk campaign pushed its internal numbers on reporters yesterday in the hours after Kirk swept a crowded field to win his party's nomination. While today's poll still shows him ahead of Giannoulias in the race for President Obama's former Senate seat, the six-point lead suggests the race is basically up for grabs.

Read more »

IL-SEN

Mark Kirk Internal Poll Claims Lead In Illinois Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2010, 2:29PM

Illinois Senate candidates Mark Kirk (R) and Alexi Giannoulias (D)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), the newly-nominated Republican candidate for President Obama's former Senate seat in Illinois, is out with a new internal poll claiming that he already has a strong lead over the Democratic nominee, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

The numbers: Kirk 47%, Giannoulias 35%. The poll was conducted February 1 and 2, before the primary. Independent polling has generally shown Giannoulias ahead of Kirk.

As David Freddosso points out: "This poll is an outlier, and it's Kirk's poll, so take it with a grain of salt. But it should put a fresh scare into the White House."

IL-GOV

The Illinois Primary: Who Won, Who Lost -- And What's Next In Super-Close Gubernatorial Primaries

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2010, 1:07PM

IL Comptroller Dan Hynes (D) and IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D)

The Illinois primary is now over. And with 99 percent of the precincts reporting, we have a variety of results to share with you. The primary has seen not one but two super-close statewide races -- in the party primaries for the exact same office, no less -- with both the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries still not settled. So what comes next?

The primaries for President Obama's former Senate seat saw clear, unambiguous wins by the two nominees. For the Democrats, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias beat former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman by 39%-34%. On the Republican side, Rep. Mark Kirk beat attorney Patrick Hughes by 57%-19%. This will be a top-tier Senate contest this fall.

In House-race primaries, the most notable result was in the 14th Congressional District. The seat was held from 1987 until 2007 by Republican Dennis Hastert, who served for eight years as Speaker of the House. After Republicans lost the majority in 2006, Hastert resigned during his next term, and the seat was picked up by Democrat Bill Foster in a March 2008 special election. One of Hastert's sons, Ethan Hastert, was running for the GOP nomination this year -- and lost by 55%-45% against state Sen. Randy Hultgren.

Read more »

IL-GOV

Adam Andrzejewski Is Tea Partiers' Illinois Dreamboat

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 2, 2010, 11:50AM

IL-GOV candidate Adam Andrezejewski (R)

Every cloud has a silver lining. And for tea partiers in Illinois smarting over their failure to mount a strong challenge to Rep. Mark Kirk (R) in the Senate race, that silver lining goes by the name Adam Andrzejewski. He's running competitively in the crowded GOP gubernatorial primary, and as voters go to the polls today, conservatives are predicting an upset victory for the man who Erik Erickson calls "a Rubio" and Rush Limbaugh labeled "the Scott Brown of this contest."

As Christina reports this morning, conservatives appear to have struck out against Kirk. But, as a myriad of conservative thought leaders wrote yesterday, Andrzejewski has given tea partiers a new reason to get excited about Primary Day in Illinois.

Read more »

2010 elections

The Tea Party Dog That Didn't Bite?

Christina Bellantoni | February 2, 2010, 8:35AM

IL-SEN candidates Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Patrick Hughes (R), and Judge Don Lowery (R)

Are Republicans really in danger of being selectively picked off by tea party candidates?

Moderate GOP candidates across the country are closely watching today's Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, where a centrist Rep. Mark Kirk is poised to beat out two conservatives who have the backing of the tea party movement.

And if Kirk pulls it out tonight as he's expected to, a sigh of relief will be heard from Lynchburg, Va. to Seattle.

Read more »

IL-SEN

Mark Kirk Shakes RINO Label To Score 33-Point Lead On GOP Challengers For Obama's Old Senate Seat

Christina Bellantoni | January 27, 2010, 9:09AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and IL-SEN candidate Patrick Hughes (R)

Democrats tried their hardest to paint Rep. Mark Kirk as cozying up with conservatives to win his Senate primary bid and tea partiers made him public enemy No. 1, but he appears poised to capture the Republican nomination next Tuesday.

Kirk (R-IL) holds a wide advantage leading up to the primary, with a 33-point advantage over his nearest challenger Patrick Hughes.

As we reported, the Tea Party Nation said Kirk had a "consistently liberal" record and was their "next battle" after Republican Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts last week. The group asked tea partiers to help Hughes, and sent a followup email lauding Don Lowery, a circuit court judge also seeking the nomination. The group said any help for these conservative candidates over Kirk will help them "turn back the tide of liberalism and RINOs in our midst."

Despite these efforts, Kirk still has what seems to be a commanding lead in the primary. Our TPMPolltracker average has Kirk with 44.5 percent of the vote, compared with Hughes at 4.5 percent and the others trailing farther behind.

"This race is a battle for the soul of the Republican party," Hughes said in October, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Read more »

IL-SEN

Tea Party Uses (Republican) Scott Brown's Victory To Target (Republican) Mark Kirk

Christina Bellantoni | January 20, 2010, 5:35PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Tea Party Nation members spent less than an hour celebrating Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts before they got to work to end another Republican's Senate candidacy.

Organizers of the Tea Party Nation, which has banned "liberal trolls" from its Web site in advance of next month's convention in Nashville, last night told members the "next battle" is in Illinois to make sure Rep. Mark Kirk does not win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

The primary is Feb. 2 and the Tea Party Nation warns that if Kirk (R-IL) wins, "this fall Illinois will have a choice between two liberals for the Illinois Senate seat." They call Kirk a "RINO," which stands for Republican In Name Only, with a "consistently liberal" record compared to Pat Hughes, who they called a "solid Conservative."

Read more »

Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk Going Right, Straddles Fence on Causes of Global Warming

Eric Kleefeld | December 9, 2009, 11:16AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who is working to solidify his hold on the Republican nomination for President Obama's former Senate seat, is providing another data point in his drift to the right and away from his previous position as a moderate Republican: A noncommittal answer on whether human beings are responsible for climate change.

The Associated Press asked the Illinois Senate candidates from both parties: "Do you believe human activity contributes significantly to global warming? Why or why not?"

"Many factors contribute to changes in climate, both man-made and natural," Kirk answered. "Regardless of your views on global warming, we should all agree that reducing our dependence on foreign oil and cutting air pollution without doing economic harm to our citizens will benefit our national security, environment and public health."

Kirk previously voted for the climate-change bill, with its cap and trade program based on the whole premise that humanity is responsible for climate change. Back in September, he amusingly changed his position in the middle of a speech to a local Republican crowd, telling them he would oppose it in the Senate if elected -- and the crowd cheered.

Mark Kirk

GOP Senate Candidate Kirk: Health Care Bill Would Deny Women Mammograms!

Eric Kleefeld | November 30, 2009, 2:59PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who is running for President Obama's former Senate seat in 2010, is now embracing an offshoot of the "death panel" line -- warning that the health care bill could result in women being denied mammograms!

As Greg Sargent reports, Kirk's campaign sent out an e-mail, officially a "questionnaire":

This month, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended eliminating mammograms for women ages 40-49. The panel concluded that while thousands of women's lives would be saved by continuing the test, "the net benefit is small" for the population as a whole.

Currently, this is only an advisory recommendation. But under the health care bill moving through the Senate, this recommendation could become law.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK: Should women between the ages of 40 and 49 be denied access to life-saving mammograms?

However, the fact is that the Senate health bill would not do such a thing. But that panel recommendation has become a big talking point of the right in the past couple weeks, warning of government-rationed care -- and this e-mail is a strong sign of how conservative Kirk is going in this statewide race, after years of maintaining a moderate profile in a Democratic district.

IL-SEN

Conservative Insurgent Candidate In Illinois Could Get Support From DeMint Group

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2009, 11:30AM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and IL-SEN Republican candidate Patrick Hughes

Could Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) leadership PAC, the Senate Conservatives Fund, be on the verge of getting involved in the Illinois Senate race, and opposing establishment favorite Rep. Mark Kirk?

DeMint's group held an online poll this past week, asking supporters to choose between Kirk, attorney and conservative activist Patrick Hughes, and "Other." As it turns out, Kirk came in third, even trailing "Other": Hughes 644 votes (73.9%), "Other" 132 votes (15.1%), Kirk 71 votes (8.1%), with "Undecided" and "No Response" totaling 24 votes (2.7%).

Hughes has met with DeMint twice, and is working to mobilize conservatives against the frontrunner. DeMint has taken the sides of more conservative candidates over the establishment in recent months, including Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election, Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race, and Chuck DeVore in the California Senate race.

Kirk has worked hard to move to the right -- such as when he changed his position on the climate change bill, right in the middle of a speech to a local Republican crowd.

Barack Obama

Fear Factor: The Four Ways Republicans Say Obama Will Kill You Now

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 20, 2009, 11:45AM

Nidal Hasan, Pres. Obama, Khalid Sheik Mohammed

It's been a week since Attorney General Eric Holder announced that five terror suspects will be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York City to face trial. There are still a lot of questions to be answered about logistics, and it will likely be months before the first suspect sets foot in a federal courtroom.

Republicans have already told us what's going to happen, though: If you let President Obama have his way, you will die.

The GOP has returned to a familiar line on Obama and national security in the days since Holder's announcement. It's time to be afraid again, they say, hearkening back to the days of duct tape and Orange alerts even some Republicans thought they left behind on Election Day 2008.

So grab an assault rifle and keep the phone number for Operation TIPS close -- here are the four ways Republicans say Obama is putting your life at risk.

Read more »

2010 elections

Rep. Mark Kirk Taking Local Heat For Gitmo Stance

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 6:40PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been one of the most prominent critics of a possible plan to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to a prison in Thomson, Illinois.

As we wrote yesterday, some conservatives favor it, and the local community sees it as an economic boon. (The Senate defeated a Republican measure to block funding for the detainee transfer today.)

But Kirk, seeking the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, said today on Fox News he thinks it should be up to the voters. He said it's a "decision bigger than any one senator" and said the "risk is unnecessary."

The Chicago Sun-Times called it a political move, editorializing today: "Kirk's scare talk might do him wonders with the GOP base, but it won't convince a single terrorist that this nation has a backbone."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee accused Kirk of being a flip-flopper, since he supported a bill last month on the House floor authorizing Obama to transfer detainees. They also said he's using "Karl Rove style fear mongering."

Read more »

Mark Kirk

Mark Kirk Denies Moving To The Right For Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | November 12, 2009, 4:56PM

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), a candidate for President Obama's former Senate seat in 2010, says he is not moving to the right in order to secure the GOP nomination -- but the Chicago Tribune sees some inconsistencies:

"I am a social moderate, fiscal conservative. But this is a big race, and we are building a broad coalition, and it will be, for a Republican candidacy, a center-right coalition," said Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman who is seeking a promotion to the Senate next year. "But for me, I haven't changed my views."

Last week, a day after appearing noncommittal about getting Palin's support during a Chicago visit next week, Kirk wrote a memo seeking to get the conservative ex-governor to say something nice about him in the Senate race.

Another fun example would be when Kirk changed his position on the climate-change bill in the middle of his speech to a Republican audience -- and the crowd liked it.

Mark Kirk

Kirk Seeking Palin's Endorsement For Senate Run -- After Badmouthing Her In 2008

Eric Kleefeld | November 4, 2009, 4:41PM

Fmr. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been actively seeking seeking the endorsement of none other than Sarah Palin in his race for Senate, the Washington Post reports, a sharp turnaround from prior image as a moderate and even his own open criticism of Palin herself.

In a memo, Kirk wrote that he was hoping for Palin to support his candidacy when she comes to Chicago to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show, saying that "the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"

Kirk has formerly had a reputation as a moderate Republican able to win in Democratic areas, such as his own district that voted for Barack Obama by 61%-38%. And in October of 2008, he openly declared of Palin, "I would have picked someone different."

But the pressure of seeking the Republican statewide nomination, with a primary electorate that has become increasingly right-wing, sure has him looking for the Palin stamp of approval.

Mark Kirk

The GOP's New Foreign Policy: Undermine American Diplomacy

Eric Kleefeld | October 2, 2009, 2:04PM

Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC) and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA)

An interesting pattern has been emerging in the Republican Party's handling of foreign policy: Individual GOP officials are now making a regular point of not only formulating an alternative foreign policy, to be presented to the American people and debated in Congress -- they're acting on it too, and undermining the official White House policies at multiple turns:

• Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is visiting Honduras in order to support the recent military coup against a leftist president, which has been opposed by the Obama administration and all the surrounding countries in the region. (Late Update: DeMint's office says he is not taking sides during his visit to the current Honduran leadership, denying the New York Times reports that this was his intention.)

• Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) will be going to the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, bringing a "Truth Squad" to tell foreign officials there that the American government will not take any action: "Now, I want to make sure that those attending the Copenhagen conference know what is really happening in the United States Senate."

Read more »