Mark Kirk

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Senate Control Is a Coin Toss: 6 Key Races to Watch
Senate Control Is a Coin Toss:
6 Key Races to Watch
election 2016

Senate Control Is a Coin Toss: 6 Key Races to Watch

A 50-50 tie is possible after Tuesday

(Newser) - So which party will control the Senate next year? Flip a coin. That's the current assessment at FiveThirtyEight.com , which gives Democrats a 52% or 53% chance of regaining control and a 16% chance of a 50-50 tie. In the latter case, the new VP would cast tie-breaking votes....

Senator Sorry He Questioned Opponent's Heritage

Mark Kirk's comment Thursday had met with 'thunderous condemnation'

(Newser) - Sen. Mark Kirk has apologized for a comment he made Thursday during a debate with challenger Tammy Duckworth that was met with "thunderous condemnation" around the country, NBC Chicago reports. "I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington," the Hill ...

In Tight Race, Ill. Senate Debate Takes an Ugly Turn

Mark Kirk questions Tammy Duckworth's US heritage

(Newser) - Illinois Republican Mark Kirk's chances of keeping his US Senate seat took a hit Thursday night when he made an ugly—and inaccurate—remark about his opponent's heritage during a televised debate. After Democratic US Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who was born in Bangkok to a Thai mother and...

First GOP Senator Breaks SCOTUS Blockade

Mark Kirk praises 'one of the most eminent jurists in the country'

(Newser) - Mark Kirk on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, criticizing GOP leaders' refusal to hold confirmation hearings or a vote on the longtime federal judge and praising him as "one of the most eminent jurists in the country," the AP...

Senator Sorry About 'Bro With No Ho' Joke

Mark Kirk was talking about pal Lindsey Graham

(Newser) - The latest adventure in hot mics involves Sen. Mark Kirk, who got caught joking to a colleague that fellow Republican senator Lindsey Graham is a "bro with no ho," reports the Huffington Post . "That's what we'd say on the South Side," said the Illinois...

Occupy DC: Vets Continue Shutdown Protests

WWII Memorial protest now in day 2, more being considered

(Newser) - Well if America's youth won't protest the government shutdown , it looks like America's veterans will. After a group of vets stormed the barricades of DC's WWII memorial yesterday, more protests are in the works, reports Buzzfeed . More veterans groups will arrive at the memorial today, while...

Another GOP Senator Endorses Gay Marriage

Mark Kirk becomes second to do so

(Newser) - Mark Kirk just became the second Republican senator to come out in support of gay marriage, BuzzFeed reports. "Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this earth is limited," he wrote on his website today. "Life comes down to who you love...

Bipartisan Group Hatches Gun Bill in Senate

Patrick Leahy announces push against 'straw purchasers'

(Newser) - A bipartisan group of senators hatched a bill today that would increase penalties for so-called "straw purchasers" of firearms, the Washington Post reports. Sen. Patrick Leahy, announcing the deal, said anyone who illegally buys a gun for someone else would face up to 20 years in prison; the seller...

Sen. Mark Kirk Has a Stroke
 Sen. Mark Kirk Has a Stroke 

Sen. Mark Kirk Has a Stroke

Illinois Republican who won Barack Obama's seat hospitalized

(Newser) - The Republican who replaced Barack Obama in the US Senate underwent surgery today, after suffering a stroke this weekend, his office has revealed. Mark Kirk, 52, is currently recovering in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reports. "Due to his young age, good health, and the nature...

Tea Party Caucuses Get Quiet

House, Senate groups haven't met in months

(Newser) - In January, the Senate Tea Party Caucus was in full swing, holding a meeting on Capitol Hill—but neither that group nor its House counterpart have done much of anything since. Though a leader of the Senate caucus points out that “it’s only been nine months,” the...

8 Senate Races to Watch
 8 Senate Races to Watch 
midterms 2010

8 Senate Races to Watch

These races will decide just how good the GOP's night is

(Newser) - It’s Election Day, folks, and we're here to give you the low-down. All eyes are certainly on the Senate, where Democrats have a chance to keep their majority, provided they can win a few close races. Here's what's happening, according to the Washington Post , complete with links to our...

2010: It's a Race to the Bottom
 2010: It's a Race to the Bottom 
GAIL COLLINS

2010: It's a Race to the Bottom

Alvin Greene, Meg Whitman, Christine O'Donnell, oh my!

(Newser) - The crazies have come pouring out of the woodwork, writes Gail Collins in a survey of the 2010 election landscape. Sure, not much is new about Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo frustrating New Yorkers' simple dream "of having a governor whose sex life is a complete mystery," but...

Jan Brewer Defends Claim About Dad's War Record

He didn't exactly die 'fighting Nazi regime'

(Newser) - Now politicians are getting into trouble for fudging other people's war records. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, complaining to the Arizona Republic about Nazi comments during the immigration debate, said this: "Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11...

Senate Candidate Lied About Navy Award

Rep. Mark Kirk fixes his official bio

(Newser) - These are dangerous times for politicians with war records on their resumes. Republican congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois—a Senate candidate for President Obama's old seat—has admitted that his official bio was wrong in declaring that the Navy once gave him the prestigious Intelligence Officer of the Year Award....

Senate Majority in Reach for Republicans
 Senate Majority in Reach 
 for Republicans 
ELECTION 2010

Senate Majority in Reach for Republicans

It's a long shot, but many races competitive, Lieberman could switch

(Newser) - It still isn’t likely—OK?—but suddenly it's "within the realm of speculation” that the Republicans could recapture the Senate in November. With Mark Kirk’s primary win in Illinois and competitive races in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and California, a 10-seat pickup is now a distant possibility, Jim Vandehei...

GOP Moderate Kirk Wins Ill. Senate Primary
GOP Moderate Kirk Wins Ill. Senate Primary
UPDATED

GOP Moderate Kirk Wins Ill. Senate Primary

Blows away tea-party-backed candidates, will try for Obama's seat

(Newser) - Moderate Mark Kirk has won Illinois’ Republican Senate primary, blowing away two conservative opponents backed by tea-party contingents. The congressman has 56% of the vote with more than 82% of precincts reporting—giving him a 37% edge over Patrick Hughes. Analysts predicted that a clear Kirk victory would take much...

Illinois Primary Could Muffle Tea Party Buzz

Moderate favored over 2 conservatives in today's Senate vote

(Newser) - If polls prove accurate, moderate Mark Kirk will emerge victorious from today’s Republican Senate primary in Illinois, beating out two more conservative candidates with tea party backing. His victory would put a dent in the tea party panic gripping the GOP, says Talking Points Memo . Republicans in states including...

Anger Fuels Illinois Primary

Former Democratic frontrunners gird for Mass.-style rebuke

(Newser) - Tomorrow Illinois holds the nation’s first primary for this year’s elections, and some are predicting the populist rage recently displayed in Massachusetts will be on display. “It’s a very angry electorate, a very volatile electorate,” a union official tells Politico . Even within the Democratic primary,...

Dems May Lose Obama's Old Senate Seat
 Dems May 
 Lose Obama's 
 Old Senate Seat 

LYNN SWEET

Dems May Lose Obama's Old Senate Seat

Illinois field isn't scaring GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk

(Newser) - The Democratic field for President Obama’s old Illinois Senate seat is anemic enough to make a GOP win a real possibility, Lynn Sweet writes. The candidates—only one of whom has run for office, ever—haven’t phased the Republican frontrunner, Rep. Mark Kirk. The statewide Dem establishment seems...

'Tea Party' to Fight Dozen GOP Candidates in 2010

Conservatives taking aim at moderates

(Newser) - This election cycle could herald all-out war between far-right conservatives and the Republican establishment. Empowered by their success in pushing the GOP candidate out of the race in New York’s 23rd District, tea party activists and their allies plan to launch primary challenges against more than a dozen GOP...

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