By Danny Yadron
Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois might not become Sen. Mark Kirk as soon as he would like.


Senator-elect Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) c(Photo by Frank Polich/Getty Images) State officials told Washington Wire that the five-term Republican, who defeated state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the contest for President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, can’t fill his new post until Nov. 23, a week after the Senate convenes for the lame-duck session. The reason for the gap: Illinois election officials need time to certify the vote.

Mr. Kirk will miss a week’s worth of cloture votes, a bummer for the congressman who campaigned that he would be the “42nd Republican senator, with the opportunity to put the brakes on any lame-duck overreach.â€