Democrats Risk Losing Obama's Old Senate Seat

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122955093&f=1002&sc=igg2

January 26, 2010

What could be worse for the White House and the Democrats than losing Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts? How about losing President Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois?

Many observers say that could happen next November, especially with Republicans likely to nominate five-term Rep. Mark Kirk, a moderate, in next Tuesday's Illinois primary.

Democrats in the race are campaigning as outsiders and underdogs, battling over who among them would be best able to capture the growing voter discontent.

I doubt Illinois considers it Obama's seat as he was there for 4 years and Burris for two. I assume thye thing it theirs - and an open race.

I was, of course, not meaning that there are not many - including the current senior Senator who still looks sad when the fact that Kennedy is not there is mentioned. I assume he is very greatly missed.

oh, well...:shrug:

the Dem running for Biden's seat, too, but the Reps are ready with their choice.

It's going to be a very ugly Summer and November in Illinois I'm afraid.

Between the high profile Blago lunacy (he goes on trial in the middle of the prime election season), the way Burris has mishandled himself, the lackluster and possibly flawed candidate we have for the office in Giannoulias (sp?), meanwhile the two Dem competitors for the Governor's seat Quinn and Hynes are muddying the waters and not missing an opportunity to pee on each others leg in public. Hell, last night they started shouting at each other in the debate about the other being incompetent, crooked, lazy etc. They are even using 20+ year old video of our late mayor Harold Washington to beat each other over the head with.

There's a huge divide IMNSHO between the Chicago and the rest of the state Dems.

I'm going to be stunned if we hold the Governor's chair and the Senate seat.

None of the bigger names wanted it.
There's also a real sad sack running unopposed in the primary for IL 6th (mine, the old Hyde seat). The 6th is obtainable, very purple the last few cycles with a less than stellar incumbent in Roskam. But nobody wanted to try. The Dem that's running basically says on his campaign website that he's running because no one else wanted to.

We can probably hold on to the Governor if Quinn and Hynes don't destroy each other.