Election 2010: Getting Dirty

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 20, 2010 3:40PM

We're less than two weeks away from the February 2 primaries and nasty is about to get nastier. It's already been a tough campaign season and after last night's special election in Massachusetts (more on that from Aaron in a bit), with the GOP sensing blood in the water, it's only going to get amped up. The Democrat primary for Cook County Board President has been particularly nasty as incumbent Todd Stroger, with his back to the wall and his re-election chances seeming slimmer each day, has lashed out and played the race card. Also on the Democrat side, the governor's race between Gov. Quinn and state comptroller Dan Hynes continues to heat up, as evidenced by last night's debate. And while the Republican candidates for those two races have been downright polite in comparison, the GOP isn't without it's own mud-slinging, albeit mostly in the form of fringe candidate Andy Martin's attacks on Mark Kirk. And as we prepare ourselves for more campaign ads and nastiness over the next two weeks, WBEZ's 848 breaks out some great examples of political attack ads, both past and present.