Posted by John Chase at 7:08 p.m.; last updated at 10:17 p.m.
Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias declared victory tonight in the Democratic primary for President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.
The victory for the first-term son of a banking family sets up a nationally-watched November contest with Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, who easily won the GOP primary tonight.
Giannoulias addressed supporters at a downtown hotel.
“Tonight the voters of Illinois sent a message loud and clear. In the midst of this dreadful economic crisis, they wanted a senator who will limit Washington special interests and protect the jobs of everyday Illinois families,” he said.
Giannoulias’ declaration came shortly after former Chicago inspector general David Hoffman conceded defeat.
"A short time ago, I called Alexi Giannoulias and I congratulated him on his victory and I offered him my full support," Hoffman said.
Earlier, Kirk declared victory on the Republican side. With 91 percent of the unofficial voted counted, Kirk had 57 percent with Hinsdale developer Patrick Hughes at 19 percent.The
other candidates were in single-digits.
"The people of Illinois now see the arrogance of a one-party state," Kirk said. "And this election will show we will not surrender to their dangerous cynicism of low expectations. Because we are Americans and we can do anything."
Giannoulias scored 39 percent to 34 percent for Hoffman and 19 percent for former Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson. That’s with 91 percent of the unofficial vote counted.
The race has already drawn interest from both national parties that want to take advantage of a rare open Senate seat with besieged appointed U.S. Sen. Roland Burris not running for election.
Democrats want to hold onto their majority in the Senate and fear the embarrassment and symbolism that would come from losing the seat once held by Obama. Republicans are trying to ride what they’ve described as a wave of dissatisfaction with Obama’s leadership that has manifested itself in victories in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
With each new update, as Giannoulias showed a small but steady lead over Hoffman, the growing crowd inside the Fairmont Hotel erupted into cheers.
Raymond Oshana, 59, owner of Crystal Palace Banquets in Mt. Prospect, praised the state treasurer as a "fresh, young energetic guy," with new ideas on how to boost the national economy.
"The economy right now is real bad," said Oshana. "We need new ideas. He has good ideas."
Oshana is a customer of Broadway Bank, the Giannoulias family bank that came under federal oversight this year after losing $75 million in 2009. He defended the state treasurer against criticisms by Hoffman as someone who has shown fiscal irresponsibility in the past. He predicted those troubles would not affect Giannoulias in a race against Kirk.
"Every person has got obstacles; There is no perfect person," Oshana said. "If we’re going to make a big deal out of every issue, how are you going to encourage our young people to be somebody?"
Even before today, Giannoulias and Kirk weren’t shy about going after each other, so much so that at times during the primary races it seemed like they were running against each other instead of their primary opponents.
Giannoulias slammed Kirk, who has spent a decade carving out a niche of being a moderate, for moving away from his stances on several issues and turning to the right to placate conservative voters in the GOP primary. Most notably, Kirk voted in favor of cap-and-trade legislation to limit carbon emissions but has since said he would not vote for such legislation if he was representing the entire state.
Illinois’ next junior senator will become the latest occupant of a seat that has historic ties to the state and the nation. Not only was it held by Obama, but it was also the seat indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich allegedly tried to sell. It subsequently went to Burris in a controversial appointment. It’s also the seat held by other notable Illinois politicians, including Adlai E. Stevenson III, Everett Dirksen and Carol Moseley-Braun, who was the nation’s first woman African-American senator.
Kirk, 50, faced little opposition in his primary run. Since launching his campaign in July, he held a commanding lead in polls over his opponents. His biggest competition came from Hughes, a Hinsdale businessman who attempted to develop support from the “tea party” movement that has attracted disaffected Republicans and others critical of higher taxes and government spending.
While Giannoulias tried to stress his stances on the economy and what he would do to bring more jobs to Illinois, Hoffman tried to run as a reformer and routinely raised questions about Giannoulias’ experience and decision-making as senior loan officer at his family-owned Broadway Bank, as well as his handling as state treasurer of $150 million in losses with the Bright Start college savings program.
Hoffman reiterated questions about loans Broadway awarded to a convicted bookmaker and prostitution ring promoter, but the issue came to a head last week when the now-struggling bank, which is still run by one of Giannoulias’ brothers, agreed to greater government oversight and was told it had to raise tens of millions of dollars.
Hoffman said Giannoulias had to better explain to voters what role he had in the bank’s troubles. Jackson said Giannoulias should drop out of the race. Giannoulias said that only a small percentage of the bank’s nonperforming loans were made while he was senior loan officer. On Bright Start, he argued his office noticed the losses, ordered corrections and reached a settlement that allowed investors to get back more than half the money they lost.
Giannoulias rose to statewide prominence in 2006 when he got Obama’s endorsement for treasurer. The two have known each other for years and played basketball when Obama was a state senator. But Obama did not endorse Giannoulias in the primary. Indeed, Giannoulias even had to answer questions about why the White House spent last summer trying to get Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run. She declined.