Senate Watch: Illinois Republican Mark Kirk Facing Tough Re-Election Challenge
The first-term Republican who took Barack Obama's Senate seat is now one of his party's most vulnerable 2016 candidates.
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Republican Senator Mark Kirk’s political vulnerability as he seeks re-election in 2016 boils down to this: he’s a Republican in a Democratic state.
His party affiliation proved less burdensome in 2010, midway into Barack Obama’s first term in the White House. That year, in one of the best national political environments for Republicans since World War II, Kirk scored a 2-point victory, capturing the seat the president had once held.