The 2010 United States Senate elections in Illinois took place on November 2, 2010. There were two ballot items for the same seat: a general election, to fill the Class 3 seat beginning with the 112th United States Congress beginning on January 3, 2011, and a special election, to fill that seat for the final weeks of the 111th Congress. Roland Burris, who was appointed to fill the vacancy created by fellow Democrat Barack Obama's election to the presidency, did not run in either election.[1]
The elections took place alongside 33 other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections in Illinois and other states. The registered party primaries for the full term took place on February 2, 2010, the earliest state primary elections: Republicans nominated U.S. Representative Mark Kirk, Democrats nominated State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and the Green Party nominated journalist LeAlan Jones. The Constitution Party and Libertarian Party submitted signatures to be on the ballot but were challenged; the result of the ensuing hearings was the Constitution Party's candidate being denied placement on the ballot but the Libertarian Party's candidate Michael Labno given ballot access.[2]
On August 2, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that the candidates appearing on the ballot for the replacement election would be the ones of the regular election,[1][3] and that the special election would appear after the general election on the ballot.[3] Kirk won both elections and was sworn in on November 29, 2010, resigning his House seat the same day. As of 2024, this was the last time that Republicans won an Illinois U.S. Senate election.
On December 9, 2008, the FBI arrested GovernorRod Blagojevich (D) on various corruption charges, most notably allegations that he attempted to sell the appointment to the vacant U.S. Senate seat. On December 31, 2008, Blagojevich nevertheless appointed former Illinois Attorney GeneralRoland Burris to fill the vacancy.[6] After initially seeking to exclude Burris, Senate Democrats relented,[7] and Burris was seated on January 15, 2009.[8]
For the state-run primary elections (Democratic, Republican, and Green), turnout was 21.74%, with 1,652,202 votes cast.[10][11]
For the general election, the special election saw a turnout of 47.24%, with 3,545,984 votes cast and the regularly-scheduled election saw a turnout of 49.35% with 3,704,473 votes cast.[10][12]
A self-described "fiscal conservative and social moderate," Republican nominee Mark Kirk based his campaign on reform and compared the race to Republican Scott Brown's election to the Senate in February 2010.[33] In addition, Kirk immediately criticized his Democratic opponent for his management of Bright Start, an Illinois 529 college savings program and his work at Broadway Bank.[34] Immediately after the primary, the National Republican Senatorial Committee aired a web ad comparing Giannoulias to the fictional character Tony Soprano.[35] Politifact ranked Kirk's references to the mob as "Half True".[36] Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown campaigned for Kirk in Illinois.[37] Kimberly Vertolli, Kirk's ex-wife, signed on as an advisor to Mark Kirk's campaign, but didn't support his more conservative platform.[38]
On February 4, 2010, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias revealed his campaign strategy, saying "come November, Congressman, your days as a Washington insider are over."[39] On July 19, 2010, Giannoulias announced that he had raised $900,000 in the quarter that ended June 30, compared to $2.3 million raised by Kirk. The Giannoulias campaign also announced that President Obama was scheduled to attend an August 5 fundraiser for his candidate in Chicago.[40]
Kirk and Giannoulias disagreed mostly on fiscal and foreign policy. Kirk voted against Obama's Stimulus package and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As a Congressman, Kirk originally voted for cap and trade but during the primary campaign announced that if elected a Senator he would vote against it.[41] Giannoulias strongly supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act[42] and Obama's stimulus.[43] Kirk opposed the building of the Park 51 Islamic center near Ground Zero of New York City, while Giannoulias stated that "Americans must stand up for freedom of religion even when it's difficult."[44]
Libertarian nominee Michael Labno was added to the ballot by the Illinois State Board of Elections after gaining ballot access by means of citizen petition.[32] Labno, an electrical project construction manager[45] and recruiter for Private Security Union Local 21[46] ran on a platform of downsizing or cutting some Federal agencies and reducing taxes and government regulations. He also supported allowing citizens to opt out of Social Security.[45] Labno is pro-life and supports 2nd Amendment rights. In August 2010, Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias declared Labno a legitimate challenge from the right for Mark Kirk. Labno responded on his Facebook fan page, saying "This is very true Alexi, and you should be afraid too."[47]
Labno attended the September 18, 2010 Right Nation rally in Hoffman Estates, Illinois headlined by conservative media figure Glenn Beck. While greeting attendees Labno noted that Republican candidate Kirk did not attend.[48] On August 27 the Illinois Board of Elections approved the Libertarian Party's petition to include its candidates on the ballot.[32]
^ abc"Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
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