By: Sarah Jones -Politicususa.com
First-term Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois broke with his party in order to meet with President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Justice Merrick Garland. For his effort at appearing to do his job, Kirk was rewarded by President Obama with a very gracious note.
A very clever Kirk tweeted a thank you to the President along with the note Thursday morning, hyping his responsibility to his constituents as being more important than partisanship, “Thanks @POTUS. I met w/ Judge Garland because my responsibility to people of #IL is more important than partisanship”:
This is a politically clever Republican, a rare sight in D.C. these days, so take note. In 2010, Kirk swept in with the Tea Party madness and took Obama’s Illinois Senate seat with less than a 2 point margin in a non presidential election year. He has long been rated one of the most vulnerable 2016 candidates.
Republicans already faced an uphill battle with the map in 2016 as the defending party in 24 out of 34 races, 7 of which are in states President Obama carried in 2012. And that was before Donald Trump and Ted Cruz dominated their party primary.
Kirk is seen as too moderate for ultra conservatives in Illinois, and supporters of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) are not fans.
It is likely that Kirk will be facing two-term Representative and Democratic favorite Tammy Duckworth, who was endorsed by both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday, as in yesterday, as in the very next day Kirk is tweeting out a thank you from President Obama, a very popular figure in his home state of Illinois.
Duckworth has a plus 6 margin against Kirk according to Real Clear Politics.
It was Duckworth who pressed Kirk when the Senator refused to respond to questions asking if he was going to follow his party’s obstruction.
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