Illinois primary: how the Scott Brown win has changed strategies
| Chicago
Scott Brown鈥檚 unexpected capture of the Senate seat held for almost 50 years by Edward Kennedy sent tremors throughout the United States. And nowhere is this being felt more right now than in Illinois, which holds primary elections Tuesday for one of its US Senate seats, as well as for governor.
As in Massachusetts, Democrats in Illinois have essentially been guaranteed victory in most races for years. But the Brown victory has thrown such guarantees into question, and the new political landscape in Illinois is prompting both Democrats and Republicans to alter their strategies. This is especially true in the Senate race, which will determine the successor to Sen. Roland Burris. Mr. Burris filled the seat vacated by Barack Obama and served half a term under a shroud of controversy.
鈥�The Democrats are waking up to threat on the other side of the aisle,鈥� says David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. 鈥淩epublicans have nowhere to go but up. Expect a full-court press to get a seat at the table鈥� in the general election in November, he says.
Illinois Republicans see an opportunity to play on the perceived weaknesses of the Democratic Party. They鈥檙e adopting a strategy similar to Brown鈥檚, which portrayed Democrats as out of touch and fiscally inept. And they鈥檙e zeroing in on something specific to the state: The impeached governor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, is expected to go on trial in June.
Republicans here hope that the issues that motivated voters to choose Mr. Brown will also resonate with Illinois voters, especially come November. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gotten to such a level that people are angry. That鈥檚 what you saw in Massachusetts, and that鈥檚 the same thing you鈥檙e going to see in Illinois,鈥� says Dan Venturi, chairman of the Lake County Republican Federation.
US Rep. Mark Kirk is the leading Republican in the Senate race. The Brown win, he says, showed his campaign that its message could reach further than GOP voters.
鈥淣othing energizes an army more than a chance of success, and the Illinois Republican army has been quite demoralized over the last decade,鈥� Representative Kirk says. 鈥淲hen they saw the Scott Brown victory, where no one expected success, it utterly energized some Republicans, independents, and even some Democrats to help break the one-party rule in Illinois.鈥�
If he wins Tuesday, Kirk says he will make corruption 鈥渢he central focus鈥� of his campaign. 鈥淭hings are worse in Illinois than in Massachusetts because underneath every issue in Illinois is corruption,鈥� he says.
But Republicans aren鈥檛 the only ones framing the Brown narrative in their favor. Democrats say it鈥檚 galvanized their ranks and provided motivation to campaign harder.
鈥淚t鈥檚 having a major effect.... No one is deluded what a strong candidate Mark Kirk can potentially be,鈥� says Thom Karmik, communications director for Democratic candidate David Hoffman. Since Brown鈥檚 win, the Hoffman campaign saw 鈥渁 serious uptick in fundraising,鈥� and its volunteer base increased from 700 to more than 1,000 people, Mr. Karmik says.
Hoffman, a former Chicago inspector general and federal prosecutor, is emphasizing his record of fighting corruption. A Hoffman victory, says Karmik, would be a win not just for his party but also for 鈥渞estoring some integrity into politics in Illinois.鈥�
In polls, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has led among the Democratic candidates. But complications have loomed: Despite his relatively short political career 鈥� he鈥檚 been treasurer for just three years 鈥� his opponents portray him as an establishment candidate whose family operates a Chicago bank that once made loans to convicted influence peddler Antoin "Tony" Rezko.
Kati Phillips, spokeswoman for the Giannoulias campaign, brushes the portrayal off, saying, 鈥淰oters seem to know the difference between a community banker and a Wall Street corporate banker.鈥�
The Brown victory, she argues, will work in Mr. Giannoulias鈥檚 favor. 鈥淭he way we鈥檙e looking at it is: Voters aren鈥檛 angry at a political party, voters are angry at Washington. They鈥檙e angry at gridlock and the leaders there who don鈥檛 listen to them and ignore them much of the time. That鈥檚 something we think we can address,鈥� Ms. Phillips says.
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