Illinois: Kirk Leads Mobbed-Up Mob-Banker Giannoulis; Brady Leads Incumbent Gov. Quinn

Obamaland's experiencing some change.

First of all, Kirk's bringing in some nice money through fundraising.

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mark Kirk raised $2.2 million since the start of the year, his campaign announced Wednesday.

The figure is the first fundraising total released since the five-term North Shore congressman won the nomination Feb. 2. Kirk faces Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama. It's currently occupied by appointed Democratic Sen. Roland Burris, who is not seeking election.

With the infusion of cash, Kirk's campaign said it has more than $3 million left ahead of the November election.

Giannoulis declined to release his own figures, which may indicate either he's not doing too well or he's getting a lot of money from his mobbed-up mob-bank. Or both.

Giannoulis' bank, however, may be going under soon:

Asked if the problems at the Giannoulias family-owned Broadway Bank would affect the candidate's voter support in the Senate contest, Madigan replied, "I'm glad I don't have any deposits there."

Federal regulators have said the bank must be recapitalized or it could face a takeover this month. Giannoulias had touted his banking expertise in running for treasurer in 2006.

That's a Democrat making fun of Giannoulis' nearly-bankrupt mob-bank, note.

Vote for me -- I managed to bankrupt a bank, so I know all the pitfalls our nation's finances face.

And Kirk is ahead:

Kirk has 37 percent support overall while Giannoulias has 33 percent, Public Policy Polling has found. The Republican has gained little in terms of favorable voter opinion since the pollster found him with 27 percent of voters viewing him positively in January; he is still unknown to 53 percent of voters, and 24 percent continue to not have enough information to form an opinion of him.

The congressman, however, is reaping the benefits of a drop in popularity for Giannoulias, who lost 10 points in terms of favorability since the last survey. The Democrat, facing controversy over bad loans approved by his family's bank, now has only 21 percent of voters thinking of him in a positive light, and 28 percent, up from 19 percent, viewing him negatively.

Kirk, a five-term representative, has more support from his party than does Giannoulias. He enjoys 77 percent support among Republicans, while his rival has 54 percent support from Democrats. Moreover, 36 percent of Democratic voters are undecided about whether to support Giannoulias.

...

Giannoulias, 34, is facing questions about his role in $20 million his family's bank is said to have lent to criminals.

There's a good chance the Democratic Party will attempt another last-minute substitution. Primaries are, in the Democratic Party, only the first draft of candidacy.

In the gubernatorial race, Republican Brady leads incumbent Democrat Quinn.

n a new poll from Dem-leaning Public Policy Polling, Brady's leading Quinn 43-33 and garnering 80% of the GOP vote. Quinn, meanwhile, has just 53% of the Democratic vote.

33 percent! And he's an incumbent!

This is good news.

posted by Ace at 03:32 PM

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