In Illinois, polls close in about one hour.

A reader objects to my assessment of the Senate race:

“This is no Dede Scozzafava who was handed the nomination behind closed doors; if Kirk gets the nomination, he’ll have won it the old-fashioned way, by getting Republicans to vote for him”
Sorry Jim but I live in Chicago area and totally disagree. It was reported locally and in the national media that Kirk and the party leadership rigged the election in his favor. What happened was that Kirk heard rumors that popular conservative politicians might run against him. Kirk told the party leadership, and leaked to the media, that he would withdraw if he had competition. We were then told that Kirk hadn’t tossed his hat in the ring, but would continue “negotiating” with party leadership that weekend.
Kirk eventually got what he wanted, and then formally declared: no experienced politician would run against him.

Hey, Kirk can make the threat, but it still takes everyone else — the rest of the party and those popular conservative politicians — to knuckle under for it to have an effect. I realize this is Chicago, but were guns really put to people’s heads? Or did these conservative folks conclude they could live with Kirk as the party’s nominee? Either way, Kirk still has to go out and win the primary.

> it’s good that a well-funded candidate, lawyer Patrick Hughes
What is your source for “well-funded”? The Chicago Tribune, which you linked to in that very same posting, said that Hughes never was able to raise much money.

According to OpenSecrets.org, Patrick Hughes raised $514,693 (with about $250,000 self-financed) and spent $490,212. That’s less than Kirk’s $4.7 million raised and $1.6 million spent, but that’s still a pretty hefty sum for a guy who’s never held elective office and has never been formally involved in politics before this race. There are a lot of unknown conservative challengers who would give their left arm for a half million to spend on their race.

This is the same thing that conservatives face all through the party, primaries rigged against us and then we are told that we lost fair and square and must vote for the RINO in November.

I think we do a disservice when we casually toss around the word “rigged.” The Iranian elections are rigged. Kirk went into this with the advantages of higher name ID, a better fundraising network, and the backing of the NRSC (the same one that’s proving worthless for Charlie Crist). Those are advantages, not guarantees of victory.