ULTERIOR MOTIVE DEPARTMENT – AT 7:25 P.M. ET:  Illinois politics is never dull.  Even the deceased are fascinated, and prove it by voting repeatedly.  Now there's a strange move contemplated by a famous name.  A political detective story from The Politico:

It’s been a rough stretch for Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias — and it could be getting a little bit rougher.

His family’s business, Broadway Bank, was seized by regulators last month. He’s had trouble getting robust support from a White House that originally preferred another candidate. And political writer Stu Rothenberg devoted a column last week to asking “Is it time for Democrats to shove Giannoulias out?”

Now, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who did not endorse anyone in the Democratic primary, is flirting with the idea of backing Republican nominee Mark Kirk in the general election.

“I like Alexi Giannoulias, but I have great respect for Mark Kirk and his service to the people of Illinois,” Jackson told POLITICO.

Hmm.  Jesse Jr. backing a Republican is like the pope having a bar mitzvah. 

If Jackson does go for Kirk — or even remains neutral, which seems more likely — Giannoulias will lose out on the veteran Democratic congressman’s political operation on Chicago’s South Side.

Giannoulias failed to attract the backing of any of Chicago’s three black congressmen in his primary race. Jackson was neutral, and Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush endorsed one of Giannoulias’s rivals in a campaign he won with a plurality of just 39 percent.

And...

Giannoulias’s camp released its own polling last week showing a neck-and-neck race with Kirk. But several independent surveys taken since the beginning of April have given Kirk a single-digit edge ranging as high as 8 percentage points.

Jackson’s endorsement wouldn’t likely translate into a big shift of votes to Kirk in the black community, but it could soften opposition. And it would be a strong symbol of Kirk’s ability to work across party and racial lines.

It would also be a slap in the face to Barack Obama.  Kirk and the ethically challenged Giannoulias are competing for Obama's old seat. 

COMMENT:  This is a we'd-love-to-win-it contest for Republicans.  Kirk is a strong candidate.  While Illinois is a blue state, it periodically elects Republicans statewide. 

There's a strong shot here if Republicans play the state correctly.

May 24, 2010