Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna said today that he will step aside if Rep. Mark Kirk runs for the Senate, clearing the way for Congressman to claim the GOP nomination.
"As party chairman my goal has been to build party unity," said McKenna in a statement. McKenna added that he and Kirk had met Sunday night and that "I reassured Mark that if he chooses to be a candidate, I will not oppose him."
The McKenna statement ends a weekend of raw politics in which state and national Republicans sought to push him out of the contest in favor of Kirk who they believe is the stronger general election candidate.
Last week Kirk was reported to be in and out of the race numerous times.
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.
