David Hoffman (Hoffman for Senate)
A former federal prosecutor has lost the Democratic primary to fill President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, finishing second in a five-candidate field.
David Hoffman, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago under Patrick Fitzgerald, received almost 34 percent of the Democratic Senate primary votes on Tuesday, trailing Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who captured 39 percent of the ballots.
The battle was for the right to appear on the November general election ballot to fill the seat being vacated by Democrat Roland Burris. Burris was appointed early last year to finish Obama’s Senate term but decided not to seek election to a full term.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press called the election for Giannoulias, who earned 39 percent of the vote. He was followed by Hoffman with 33.8 percent, Chicago Urban League CEO Cheryle Jackson with 19.7 percent, physician Robert Marshall with 5.7 percent and attorney Jacob Meister with 1.8 percent.
Alexi Giannoulias (Alexi Giannoulias for Illinois)
Hoffman, who was a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois from 1998 to 2005, came under fire from Giannoulias for seeking campaign donations from his former colleagues. He had received endorsements from numerous news organizations, including The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times and numerous politicians and organizations.
Giannoulias will face Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in November. Kirk won the GOP primary on Tuesday with 56.6 percent of the vote. He beat attorney Patrick Hughes who earned 19.3 percent, retired attorney Don Lowery. who got 8.9 percent, historian Kathleen Thomas, who got 7.3 percent, writer Andy Martin, with 5.1 percent, and management consultant John Arrington who garnered just 2.8 percent of the vote.
NO MORE BANKERS! The Democrats give us a banker. They should prepare to lose? The Democratic base is not going to come to the pols for this BS!