The race for the Illinois Senate seat that once belonged to President Obama is set, with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias facing off against Republican Mark Kirk. Giannoulias, who is the state Treasurer, barely beat out fellow Democrat David Hoffman in the primary while Kirk won by a sizable margin in the Republican primary. Both candidates stressed the importance of reigning in special interest groups and both seek to appeal to moderate and independent voters. Giannoulias is considered the front runner, although some experts think that Kirk has a good chance of winning the election (which is next November) because of his moderate stance on social issues. Said Kirk regarding the Democrat's control of the Senate: "One political party should never hold all of the power. We reject corruption. We embrace reformers." I think the race for this Senate seat will be very important in the scope of American politics, as Illinois seems like one of those states that is an accurate gage of the public sentiment of the entire country (much like Missouri and Ohio are). If Kirk pulls off the upset, it could mean that Obama is in for a tough re-election campaign, even though the election is a little ways down the road. If Illinois falls to the Republicans, it could be a sign that the GOP is once again gaining momentum in the perpetual tug of war between the two major political parties. Read more at http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/03/illinois.politics/index.html.
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