CHICAGO – Rep. Mark Steven Kirk gained the right to try to wrest President Obama’s old Senate seat out of Democratic hands Tuesday night, easily winning the GOP primary and the right to face state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who narrowly won the Democratic nomination.
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[T]he Senate race has drawn the most national attention, especially after Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority last month when Republican Scott Brown won the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts. The GOP hopes that election is a harbinger of large gains in November.
Full story: Kirk, Giannoulias win Senate primaries in Illinois – latimes.com