Illinois Senate Race Clarified This Week

The 2010 U.S. Senate race in Illinois had a number of important developments this past week. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) announced that she would not run for the U.S. Senate, nor for Governor, but would run for reelection. Also on the Democratic side, Sen. Roland Burris, who currently holds the seat after being appointed by former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich, announced that he will not run for the seat in 2010. Both of these are good news for IL Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) who has been raising money for a run at the seat. Word is that Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will run for the seat (see CQ Politics). Rep. Kirk represents a Democratic leaning district in the Chicago area. He is viewed as a strong candidate for the seat, as he is a moderate in a Democratic leaning state. He will be viewed by some in the Republican party as the best chance at picking up the seat, while being attacked by other elements of the party for his moderate stances on a number of issues. There are other Democrats and Republicans eyeing the race as well.