Scott Lee Cohen, the Democratic nominee for Illinois lieutenant governor, removed himself from the campaign Sunday, freeing Gov. Pat Quinn from the baggage Cohen brought to the ticket, but also leaving him without a running mate.
"I'm someone who made mistakes in my life. And look where I am. If I let you down I'm sorry," Cohen said Sunday evening in a tearful announcement at the Hop Haus Tavern.
For days, the pawn broker-turned Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor was dogged over allegations he abused anabolic steroids, went into fits of rage, sexually abused his then-wife, got behind in child support payments and held a knife to the throat of a former girlfriend who is a convicted prostitute.
And what happens next?
House Speaker Michael Madigan will work with members of the Democratic State Central Committee, Gov. Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to find a replacement, Brown said.
The selection task falls to the DSCC, which is made of a male and female representative from each of the state's 19 congressional districts. The DSCC is not required to pick from Cohen's primary competitors.
They're dropping like flies in the race to take over what was Obama's Senate seat in 2010. We learned yesterday that Burris isn't going to run for the seat Blago so graciously gave him. Now the Republican favorite for the seat is out.
Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will not run for the open seat of Sen. Roland Burris (D) in 2010, a stunning reversal from just 48 hours ago when Kirk signaled to National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) that he would make the race.
Kirk's decision, a blow to Senate Republicans' chances in Illinois, came in the wake of Burris' formal retirement this afternoon. - The Fix
Kirk told Roll Call over the phone Friday that he was still discussing the race with McKenna going into the weekend and that a published Washington Post report that he was dropping out of the race was incorrect.
The state party chairman, Andy McKenna, is the one stumbling block preventing the GOP’s leading recruit, Rep. Mark Kirk, from officially announcing he’s running for the Senate.
Kirk, who has been courted by national Republicans for months, told party officials today that he would only be running if they ensured that McKenna won’t be challenging him in a primary.
McKenna was originally planning to run only if Kirk passed on the Senate race, but he had become angered over Kirk’s vote in favor of cap-and-trade energy legislation -- and has told GOP officials he wouldn’t necessarily step aside.
Republican officials have now been pressuring McKenna, who served as Kirk's first campaign finance director, to step aside. He will be making a final decision over the weekend, according to Illinois GOP sources.
