Results tagged “andymckenna”

With the recent announcement by Republican Andrew McKenna that he's entering the fray for Governor in next year's election, the Illinois gubernatorial election is heating up. With the primary election on February 2nd 2010 quickly approaching, plenty of candidates have stepped up to fight for the right to lead Illinois. Here is a quick run down of some of the major candidates:

Lynn Sweet reports that U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's office is saying he's running for a state-wide office...but tsk tsk, they won't tell us which state office until his formal announcement on Monday. Of course, we can look past this little tease and know almost for certain that it's going to be for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Roland Burris. With state GOP head Andy McKenna yielding the right of way to Kirk on this office, it seems a pretty sure thing we'll be reading about "Kirk For Senate" come Monday afternoon.

After a flurry of "He's Out" and "He's In" releases, scoops, and stories, it seems we're heading for a final "He's In!" for U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and the upcoming U.S. Senate race. Crain's Greg Hinz is reporting that state GOP chief Andy McKenna, the man most saw as Kirk's primary obstacle in securing the Republican nomination for next year's senate contest, will defer to Kirk's wishes. It's been a bit of a confusing affair, especially with two big names - State Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the seat's current holder, Roland Burris - dropping out of next year's race. Luckily, Hinz breaks it down pretty succinctly.

With the announcement that Roland Burris will not seek re-election and Lisa Madigan staying put in the AG's seat, Illinois's Junior Senatorial seat has become somewhat of a political hot potato. And amid the shuffling of names and personalities in potential statewide races that have been subject to speculation for months, the Washington Post reported, incorrectly, that Mark Kirk wouldn't run for the GOP slot in the general. In fact, Kirk has been in a bit of a political standoff with Illinois GOP chair Andy McKenna over who would run for an elected office in Illinois that could actually go to a Republican.

2010 may be a wild election year in Illinois. That is, if anyone can make up their minds about what they want to do. 7th District Congressman Danny Davis hopes Roland Burris will make up his mind already about running for re-election. Davis told Chicago Public Radio on Monday that Burris's decision will affect his decision about whether to run for Senate next year. "That would play seriously in the thinking of any African American who may be interested," he said. "I'm hoping that the senator will hurry up and publicly let people know whether he intends to run for election." Well, we already know how Burris is leaning.

U.S. Senate lawyers relented this afternoon and declared that Roland Burris's credentials met the chamber's rules and could be seated as the junior senator from Illinois. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin issued a joint statement, saying: "Barring objections from Senate Republicans, we expect Senator-designee Burris to be sworn in and formally seated later this week...We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect."