Illinois primaries set up 'national battleground'

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

CHICAGO — Illinois voters set the stage Tuesday for a high-stakes battle over the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama, which could bring more changes to the balance of power on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Mark Kirk, a five-term member of Congress and Navy Reserve officer, easily won the Republican nomination. In November, he will face state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who won a closer race for the Democratic nomination. Giannoulias, a banking heir, won his first bid for state office in 2006.

Kirk said the results showed that Illinois voters "see the arrogance of a one-party state." Giannoulias said his victory proves that voters want a senator who will "limit Washington special interests" and protect jobs.

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In the other major contest in the nation's first primaries of the year, Gov. Pat Quinn declared victory after midnight. He had a small lead with 98% of the vote counted in his race with state Comptroller Dan Hynes for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. "We have won this election," Quinn told supporters, but Hynes told his backers, "We need to count all the votes."

Quinn inherited the office when fellow Democrat Rod Blagojevich was impeached in January 2009 after being charged with corruption.

The contest for the GOP gubernatorial nomination — pitting former state GOP chairman Andy McKenna against state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady and former attorney general Jim Ryan— also was too close to call.

The races may reflect an "anti-incumbent, anti-establishment" mood that "could bode bad things for Democrats in November," said Matt Streb, an associate professor of political science at Northern Illinois University.

Some voters said they are anxious about the economy, budget deficits and the divisive tone of the campaigns. "I'm voting for change," said Maria Pollard, 53, a home health aide. "The state and the country are in a big financial mess," she said.

Bill Fitzgerald, 63, said his top concerns are Illinois' $13 billion budget shortfall and sustaining help for the needy. His votes weren't meant to signal discontent with Obama, he said, "Obama's programs are the only solution."

Goren Dillard, 47, who is starting a business after being laid off, said, "There's got to be a time when Americans come together. This is a crisis moment." Dillard hopes Illinois does not emulate Massachusetts, which last month elected Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat occupied for decades by Democrat Edward Kennedy. "Let's give Obama a shot to clean up this mess," he said.

Illinois could be the next surprise "blue state" to go "red," said Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, which surveyed voters before Tuesday's election. Republicans, he said, have "a real chance of winning the Senate and the gubernatorial seats.

The Senate contest will turn Illinois into a "national battleground," Streb said, with the national Republican Party pouring money into the state in hopes of winning a "hugely symbolic victory."

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