David Axelrod Worried Dems May Lose Obama’s Senate Seat

(The New York Times Via Politico)

Things are not looking good for Democratic Senatorial recruitment for what should be an easy open seat defense.

Axelrod concedes that he and Mr. Obama failed to persuade Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run for the Senate seat vacated by Mr. Obama. “She would have walked into the seat,” Mr. Axelrod says. White House qualms about the Democratic frontrunner, Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois treasurer, are self-evident, with worry that the Republican challenger, Representative Mark Kirk, will be needlessly formidable.

“The Blago saga will hang heavy over our politics, and that’s what Kirk’s banking on,” Mr. Axelrod says.

My friend Liz Mair, formerly with the RNC and now with an independent consulting firm, has mentioned to me the Democratic front-runner in FIB-Land has numerous ties to organized crimes beyond the trouble from his connections to former Governor Blagovich.

Early polling has shown Mark Kirk in the lead.