As Senate vacancies go, the one created by Barack Obama’s victory in last year’s presidential election was supposed to be a mere formality for Democrats. It was a vacant seat in a heavily Democratic state with a Democratic Governor. This Democratic Governor had no shortage of highly qualified candidates from which to choose a successor to Obama, and that successor would be expected to cruise to a full term in 2010.
Instead, the vacancy has turned out to be a debacle that has the potential to threaten Democrats’ hold on the seat. The situation began to unravel in early December with the arrest and subsequent indictment and impeachment of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich for allegedly trying to sell the seat to the highest bidder, among other charges. Over the objections of Democratic leaders in the state, Blagojevich maintained that he still had the power and the right to make the appointment. Several Democrats who had expressed interest in the seat backed away, knowing that any Blagojevich appointee would be tainted from the start. No one was willing to sacrifice their political
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.