Progress Illinois

All four Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Democratic have produced new videos in the last few days. Let's take a look, shall we?

The first comes from David Hoffman, who cut a highlight reel from a forum held by the Northern Illinois Coordinated Campaign Committee in Rockford on Sunday. In the clip, Hoffman discusses the economy, banking reform, the federal deficit, and Afghanistan:

The Hoffman campaign also released a new polling memo this week that The Hill, the Washington Post, and Politico all picked up. While pollster Geoff Garin took pains to argue that Alexi Giannoulias too "flawed" a candidate to beat GOP Rep. Mark Kirk in the general election, the underlying data is similar to other polls we've seen so far (Kirk leads Giannoulias 40-37 percent, but out-distances Hoffman -- whose name identification is at only 26 percent --  by 10 points.)  Here's what Giannoulias campaign manager Tom Bowen had to say to the Post's Chris Cilliza:

"Every public poll shows Alexi Giannoulias leading or neck-in-neck with Mark Kirk while David Hoffman is trailing badly. ... He is behind, desperate and now he is running a negative and dishonest campaign, preferring to attack fellow Democrats instead of telling us what he would do in the Senate."

Speaking of the Giannoulias, he earned an endorsement from Illinois' own U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky on Sunday. In this video clip from the press conference, the congresswoman said Giannoulias would be a strong voice for health care reform in the Senate. Watch it:

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Lots of new campaign advertisements and web videos out in the past few days.  Here's a rundown ...

Gov. Pat Quinn has a new ad out, titled "Finally," which hit the airwaves yesterday, according to Capitol Fax:

After yesterday's fiery debate in Rockford, the Quinn campaign also released this clip from the governor's remarks (under the title: "Quinn wins at Rockford Forum"):

You can read the Hynes campaign's take on the debate here.

In the 10th Congressional District primary, Julie Hamos is airing a new biographical spot on the cable airwaves:

U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias also has a new web ad up today, highlighting how the treasurer's Employ Illinois program helped a Springfield child care center create jobs:

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The latest from the 2010 U.S. Senate race ...

Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Jan Schakowksy announced her endorsement of State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary.  When they rolled out Rep. Luis Gutierrez' backing a week earlier, the campaign used the occasion to highlight Giannoulias' position on the need for stronger financial regulation.  This time, the topic was health care.  From a release:

"Alexi Giannoulias is the best candidate to retain President Obama's seat because he has the courage to take on powerful interests and stand up for Illinois families," Schakowsky said. "He supports health-insurance reform that will reign in the soaring costs of premiums and protect families from losing coverage during these difficult economic times." [...]

"Jan and I believe in a simple proposition: if you pay your premiums your insurance company should cover you - no exceptions, no caps, no limits," Giannoulias said. "Mark Kirk disagrees. He believes in protecting insurance companies, not protecting people."

Giannoulias has now racked up endorsements from five of the state's congressional Democrats (Reps. Bill Foster, Mike Quigley, and Phil Hare are also supporting him). Meanwhile, Cheryle Jackson is the only other candidate in the race to receive backing from members of Congress (Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis).  

Elsewhere on Sunday, Giannoulias skipped a debate held in Rockford, which Jackson, David Hoffman, and Jacob Meister all attended.  ABC 7 has a report on their comments regarding Afghanistan. (All three "expressed deep doubts ... about sending more troops.) 

In other news, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a clever web ad today hitting GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for his shifting positions on Sarah Palin. Watch it:

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Here's the latest news in the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate:

Cheryle Jackson released an internal poll yesterday, the results of which are consistent with surveys conducted by independent outfits and other campaigns: Alexi Giannoulias holds a healthy lead but plenty of primary voters are still undecided. From the memo, obtained by Capitol Fax:

If the election were held today, “undecided” would win the race, claiming 45% of the vote, with the candidates’ current positions relating largely to name ID. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias starts out with 31% of the vote (just 16% of which is strong support), followed by Cheryle Jackson at 13% (7% strong). David Hoffman and Jacob Meister each draw support in the single digits (8% and 2%, respectively

Jackson also includes data showing that support for her campaign doubles once the candidates' positive messages are read, vaulting her into the lead. As usual, those types of results should be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, when David Hoffman informed voters of his background in his campaign's first public poll last month, his support jumped almost 30 percentage points. But as Rich Miller noted in his SouthtownStar column, the description offered to respondents "paint[ed] the man as almost a superhero."

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Lots of action among the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate these past few days.

Alexi Giannoulias has received the endorsement of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Illinois Reps. Phil Hare, Mike Quigley, and Bill Foster previously announced their support).  In a statement yesterday, Gutierrez said the Giannoulias "consistently fights for the middle class, represents people over special interests and will move our country forward by empowering working families."  In turn, Giannoulias praised the Chicago congressman's vote against a ten-year-old piece of legislation that ultimately paved the way for the financial crisis:

Giannoulias said he agreed with Gutierrez's vote against the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 that allowed investment banks, commercial banks and insurance firms to create institutions that were "too big to fail" and mix government-insured savings with risky investments.

"Financial deregulation in Washington and pure greed on Wall Street led to the collapse of our financial system," Giannoulais said. "Congressman Gutierrez had the common sense to vote against deregulation. Now we hope to work together in Congress to fix what's wrong with our financial sector, restore accountability and oversight to the industry and prevent these speculative binges and high-wire gambles so taxpayers aren't left footing the bill."

On Friday, David Hoffman rolled out his economic plan.  But that news got overshadowed by his baseless claim that Giannoulias broke a campaign pledge not to accept corporate PAC money by taking $500 from the Community Bankers Association.  In fact, as the Tribune pointed out, the Giannoulias campaign never cashed the check, opting to return it instead. 

Yesterday, the Giannoulias campaign said that Hoffman "owes Alexi an apology."  This morning, they got their wish:

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There are two new campaign ads out this afternoon.

First up, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' campaign has a new web video slamming GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for seeking Sarah Palin's support:

On a related note, the Sun-Times editorial board criticized the North Shore Republican this morning in a piece headlined "Moving right might cost Kirk election."

Next is 10th Congressional District candidate Julie Hamos, who released her first TV spot today. Health care is the theme. "Let's not let this moment in history pass us by," she says about the prospect of reform. Watch it:  

Speaking of health care, United Power for Action and Justice and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law have published a new video featuring two physicians explaining why they believe reform is necessary.  Watch it:

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Last fall, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk wasn't sure that Sarah Palin had the proper qualifications to serve as vice president. But apparently he thinks she has what it takes to help him wrap up his U.S. Senate primary bid.

According to the Washington Post's Chris Cilliza, Kirk recently penned a memo to Republican bigwig Fred Malek soliciting a formal endorsement from the former Alaska governor when she swings through Chicago to appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show:

After noting that Palin will be in Chicago later this month to appear on "Oprah", Kirk writes that "the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"

Kirk goes on to write that he is hoping for something "quick and decisive" from Palin about the race, perhaps to the effect of: "Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that."

The Chicago media's sole focus will be on whether Palin "oppose[s] Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"  Really?

The only explanation for this bizarre memo is that Kirk is genuinely worried that some conservative challenger might undercut his campaign before it gets off the ground, even though no one who fits that profile has yet emerged.  But is pursuing Palin's support really worth it?  After all, she is pretty darn unpopular outside the hardcore conservative base.

Moreover, his efforts to secure her endorsement represent yet another flip-flop. Indeed, Kirk initially praised John McCain's selection of a running mate last September, only to change his mind when it became clear that she was dragging down the Republican ticket, telling the Tribune editorial board that he would have picked someone else as a running mate.  Now we've come full circle.

UPDATE (2:47 p.m.): Here's a response from Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias:

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Back in September, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias became the first major statewide candidate in Illinois history to speak up in support of gay marriage. Since then, raising the profile of the civil rights abuses leveled against the GLBT community has become a central theme of his U.S. Senate campaign.  Indeed, the Chicago Democrat has already pledged to help repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy if he is sent to Congress.

So it's not surprising that Giannoulias was quick to respond to the news that Maine voters yesterday repealed same-sex marriage rights at the ballot box -- a stinging defeat for the gay rights community.  From his statement this morning:

The march toward marriage equality was dealt a setback yesterday, and I am disappointed with the results.  But we know that change never comes easy.  I believe strongly that we cannot give up hope, that we must not stop moving forward, and that no matter how difficult the setback, we must never stop fighting for people to be treated equally under the law.

The defeat in Maine has some gay-rights advocates already rethinking their strategy at the state level.  Even though state lawmakers like Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) continue to push for equal marriage laws here in the Prairie State, additional focus is likely to shift to Congress, where the federal same-sex marriage ban could be reversed without voter approval. Already, Giannoulias has indicated that if sent to D.C., he's ready to do his part to end these retrograde policies. "This goes to what this country was founded on," Giannoulias recently told the Sun-Times Mark Brown, "equality and fairness."

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council,which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Since entering the U.S. Senate race, former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman has repeatedly suggested that fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias can't beat GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk in the general election.  Today, the Giannoulias campaign released a poll that indicates, if the election were held today, their candidate would fare better against Kirk than Hoffman.  Here is the pair of head-to-head results (the only data made available by the Giannoulias camp):

Giannoulias: 46%
Kirk: 43%

Hoffman: 39%
Kirk: 48%

*Results based on a sample of 805 likely general election voters conducted October 25th – 28th.  Margin of error: +/- 3.5%

A Rasmussen poll conducted in mid-September found somewhat similar results: Giannoulias and Kirk tied at 41 percent and Kirk leading Hoffman by 10 percentage points. Rasmussen also had Kirk leading Democrat Cheryle Jackson by four points.

Speaking of Jackson, she filed her nominating petitions just an hour before the deadline today.

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North Shore Republican Rep. Mark Kirk has hit the airwaves with a new radio spot bashing the Democrats' health care reform effort. The Plum Line's Greg Sergeant nabbed the audio and has posted it online. Click on the video to hear the U.S. Senate candidate's message:

"Democrats in Washington want to put the government in charge of your health care. But Congressman Mark Kirk is fighting back. He's leading to effort to stop the government takeover. He offered the Republican alternative: lawsuit reform, no government interference with your doctor, the right to buy coverage from any state in the union, and no cuts to Medicare. Illinois needs a U.S. Senator like Mark Kirk who will stand up for seniors."

Like his machinations regarding cap-and-trade, this is certainly some red meat for the skeptical conservative base. And for those of you who have followed our coverage of Kirk's health care criticisms, there's nothing new in here.

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