Kirk Out-Raises, Leads Poll Over Alexi

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 13, 2010 9:30PM

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk

With all of the controversy surrounding Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and his campaign's shifting to damage control mode, perhaps the news that Republican opponent Mark Kirk has raised almost twice as much money isn't that big of a surprise. The Sun-Times reports that Giannoulias is reporting fundraising in the first quarter of 2010 at $1.2 million. But just last week, Kirk claimed $2.2 million in funds raised over the same time. The news comes on the heels of last week's news that there's been something of a flip-flop in the latest poll numbers. A Rasmussen Reports poll released last week gives Kirk a 41 percent to 37 percent edge over Giannoulias, a reversal of the slight lead Giannoulias held over Kirk earlier this year.