Hello hello my favorite left-wingers,

Welcome to the third installment of Senate Election Watch 2010 with your tremendous board members Matt and Bridgit. Today we are looking at President Obama’s old standby, the Illinois senate seat being vacated by one Roland Burris. Burris, who has only been in office for two years, has had his tenure shrouded in controversy, being that he was appointed by ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich, who has since been impeached and removed from office on corruption charges. Burris, at the urging of the Democratic Party and President Obama, has declined to seek reelection, leaving the Democratic primary open to a variety of characters.

The Illinois primary was this past week, on February 2, making it the first 2010 election in the nation. On the Democratic side, a hotly contested battle ensued, with current Illinois treasurer Alexi Giannoulias coming out with 38.9% of the vote, about 5% more than the runner-up, David Hoffman, the current Inspector General of Chicago. The Republican half of the race was much less exciting, with current U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk taking 56% of the vote, a solid 35 points over his next closest competitor.

If there ever was a race (after Massachusetts of course) that would show the greater feelings of the country and its direction, Illinois must be it. Early polling, prior to the primary, had the race jumping all over the place, with both Giannoulias and Kirk seemingly having 5% leads over each other, depending on what poll you looked at. The first poll taken post-primary by Rasmussen the day after the primary, had Kirk with a 6 point lead. However, there is a 4.5% margin of error, and 10% of the Illinois voting population remains undecided.

Kirk has been able to take the lead in Illinois due to his strong fiscally-conservative record in the House, and socially moderate policies. Illinois has a strong Democratic tradition, and although they have no partisan registration, it is a state where true conservatives have had much trouble winning elections. Kirk has achieved popularity by playing off of independents’ and moderates’ current frustration with the direction of the country. Giannoulias is not a weak candidate however, having defeated State Senator Christine Radogno in 2006 for the Treasurer position, becoming not only the youngest person in the nation (at 30) to hold that office, but also becoming the first Democrat to hold it in 12 years.

The campaign has already gone negative, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee running an ad the day after the election comparing Giannoulias’s ethical record to that of Tony Soprano. Kirk himself criticized Giannoulias for mismanagement of a college savings program and for his work at Broadway Bank. Giannoulias responded by calling Kirk a “Washington insider” who is not right for Illinois. With things getting this hot nine months from Election Day, the state of Illinois and the country as a whole can only wait and see how it pans out. If the economy continues to struggle and Obama’s plans fail, it is likely that Kirk, a moderate, can steal the seats from the Democrats. However, if things improve (as they surely must), Giannoulias should bring out the Democrats and win a striking victory. We can only hope.

Next Week: Nevada Senate Race (Will Our Glorious Leader Survive?)

I don’t always get political, but when I do, I prefer the Democrats. Stay liberal my friends.