Kirk decides not to run?
Posted: Friday, July 10, 2009 4:16 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Republicans, 2010
From NBC's Mark Murray
What a difference two days can make.
After we and others reported that Republican Rep. Mark Kirk
would be running for Barack Obama's old Senate seat -- giving Republicans their best chance of winning major statewide office in Illinois in more than 10 years -- the moderate GOP congressman changed his mind, according to a Republican source with knowledge of the decision.
Kirk's reversal, first reported by the Washington Post, is a blow to the GOP. The remaining Republican in the field is state party chairman Andy McKenna, who more than likely would have campaigned in a GOP primary against Kirk's recent vote in favor of the energy bill.
But hold on: A Republican emails First Read that Kirk MIGHT be reconsidering. "Hearing now that it may not be 100% -- I still think he doesn’t do it but apparently they might try to work something out."
Stay tuned, folks.
*** UPDATE *** Roll Call has more on Mark Kirk playing Hamlet: "Kirk told Roll Call over the phone Friday that he was still discussing the race with McKenna going into the weekend... Kirk told Roll Call that he and McKenna would continue to discuss the race over the weekend."