Monday, March 2, 2009

Alexi Explores Senate Run

Not much time to post today (it's nice to be busy in this economy), but it's worth noting that State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias announced an exploratory committee today for a 2010 Senate bid. It looks like he will almost certainly face Senator Roland Burris in a primary, since Burris seems to be dug in. Given the recent (if a bit late) support from some segments of the African-American community, Alexi may have quite a fight on his hands. It's no coincidence that Alexi offers LOTS of pix with him and African-Americans on his new website.

Wonder what Mark Kirk thinks of all this...?

Use this as an Alexi/Roland/Mark (and throw in Jan Schakowski if you like) open thread.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

TA-
Mob Banker Alexi should be worried about Sec. Bill Daley. I hear the former Commerce sec is looking at the senate seat, also Mob Banker Alexi should be watching out for Team Madigan, I don't think the Madigans have ever liked Alexi which is why Mike Madigan ran someone against Mob Banker Alexi.

Anonymous said...

I hope that Alexi will run for a different office. If that happens, a Republican will have a better chance of being elected treasurer. I emailed St. Sen. Matt Murphy and asked him to run. He proved that he supports conservative budgets, last March, when he led the movement to allow some suburbs to secede from Cook Co., to avoid the sales tax rate increase.

Phil Collins

Anonymous said...

I have strong doubts about the state party. They've won 3/9 congressional races since 2004 in areas that were once considered among the safest Republican districts in the country. Now mark is going to turn that on its head while squaring off against a white house from his home state with an approval rating north of 65%?
NO.

People seem to be confusing Patrick Mogge and catwoman with David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. The democrats will not give Mark this seat or lay back. This is now the 7th most democratic state in the nation and Mark starts at a major disadvantage.

If Louis read politico today, he saw that Peter Fitzgerald is never coming back, sadly because after John Porter he is the only decent GOP politician from here in the last 20 years not named Kirk.

Finally don't confuse Democrat idiocy for political opportunity. John McGovern, Mark's top gun in 2000 ran Judy Baar Topinka's campaign against blago in 2006 and lost BADLY.

McKenna needs to rebuild the party, then try for wins.

Anonymous said...

Blago didn't beat Topinka badly. He won, 49%-40%, with 11% for the Green Party. That's a close race, compared to the 2004 U.S. Senate race in which Obama beat Keyes, 73%-27%.

Phil Collins

Anonymous said...

40%-worse than Jim Ryan in 2002 and that was before Blago was corrupto. Bottom line, this party continues to believe that allegations of democratic corruption and high taxes alone will somehow give us the power back. Hasn't worked thus far.

The focus is wrongly being placed on candidates instead of creating new ideas and new organizations.

Anonymous said...

Congressman Rush, an ardent supporter of Senator Burris did the unthinkable in Democrat money circles. He called out a Kennedy for past misdeeds (that being a certain accident on a bridge in the 60's.) I am not going to get into the politics of the statement only to say if you want to run for Senate as a Democrat in this country having your chief supporter throw a Kennedy under the bus tends to dry up all the big money people Burris will need to run a credible race. That is if he could ever have run a credible race.

Ed "New Pappa" Sullivan