Not very surprising and rumbling has been growing since the Burris debacle:
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is holding conversations with leading Illinois Democrats in preparation for a possible candidacy, according to a Democratic operative familiar with his decision-making process.
“He’s been talking to a lot of Democrats in Illinois who believe that this seat is gone is if Burris is the nominee. If it’s Mark Kirk or a rich Republican, we’ve got to hold this seat. That’s enough to encourage him to take a very serious look,” said the operative.
At 32, Giannoulias has been on the fast track in Illinois politics since leaving his job as a bank vice president to run for state treasurer in 2006. Inspired by Obama’s Senate campaign, he ran against the Democratic candidate backed by the party establishment and, aided by Obama’s endorsement, prevailed.
He considers Obama to be his political mentor and was a frequent participant at Obama’s pickup basketball games during the presidential primary. (He played professional basketball in Greece.)
A Giannoulias candidacy would put Obama in a difficult position. Would he endorse the incumbent, the only African-American in the Senate? Would he support his close friend? Or would he stay out of the race completely?
“He’s not looking for permission or smoke signals from the president,” the operative said. “But if the president felt strongly that he not run, that opinion would get heard.”
He’s probably the strongest candidate against Burris for a variety of reasons including good fundraising skills, good relations in the black community, and close to the President (damn that sounds good–first time I’ve said that on here). If people paid attention, most of the pressure for Burris since he is African-American was from a small group of largely older African-American political operatives and the national press.
Standing up against Roland Burris hasn’t hurt any Illinois politician.
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