Tomorrow kicks off the 2010 election cycle with the Illinois Primaries. There are heated races in both parties for Governor and Senate, as well as for my congressional district, Illinois's 10th. Republican incumbent Mark Kirk is running for Senate, giving Democrats a chance to take his Democratic-leaning seat (PVI D+6), a rare offensive opportunity in a year in which Democrats will be mostly playing defense in the House. Three Democrats are running to be their party's nominee: state representative Julie Hamos, attorney Elliot Richardson (no relation to the famed Watergate prosecutor of the same name), and 2006 and 2008 candidate Dan Seals, who was a Netroots candidate during both his runs.
All three candidates are pretty good on the issues in my opinion. Hamos has the support of a large amount of the district's elected officals, Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky and Shelley Berkley, most labor and Democratic interest groups (i.e. Sierra Club, Stonewall Democrats) and the endorsements of the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Seals has the support of a number of local township groups, a few local politicians and labor groups, Congressman Jay Inslee, and the endorsement of the Daily Herald. Hamos has raised about $1.1 million so far vs. about $0.5 million for Seals and over $0.25 million for Richardson.
Full disclosure: I worked on both Seals campaigns, and while I like Seals as a person I was disappointed by how his 2008 campaign turned out, especially with both Barack Obama and Dick Durbin on the ballot. That's why I voted absentee for Hamos; she's just as solid on the issues as Seals but a safer pick to take the seat in my opinion. Although, to be fair, only one of the five Republican candidates have outraised Seals (self-funder Dick Green), so while he'd be in good position to fsce the likely Republican nominees (either state representative Beth Coulson or businessman Bob Dold), it would be a riskier proposition for the Democrats in trying to take the seat. That's just my opinion, so feel free to disagree. We shall see, though, what the voters of the Tenth think...
So, if you've voted already or are voting tomorrow, or don't live in the district but have looked at the candidates' websites and like a particular candidate, feel free to vote in the poll below! And also feel free to discuss the other Illinois races tomorrow in the comments section below.