GOP Sen. Mark Kirk
On Friday, Chicago Urban League President and CEO Andrea Zopp announced that she will
seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Mark Kirk. Zopp will face at least Rep. Tammy Duckworth in the primary; Rep. Robin Kelly and state Sen. Napoleon Harris have been talking about running too, though they can't be happy with the idea of facing another African American from Chicago.
While national Democrats have indicated that they prefer Duckworth, the DSCC has not gotten involved here. Some African American leaders have been working to recruit Zopp, and she'll also have the backing of former Obama chief of staff Bill Daley. Zopp's time as a corporate lawyer should also give her the connections she'll need to raise money.
However, her service on the Chicago School Board is a potential liability. Zopp signed onto the controversial decision to close 49 public schools. Mayor Rahm Emanuel easily won re-election last month despite his role in the closures, but unlike Chuy Garcia, Duckworth will have the resources to hit Zopp on this issue if she wants to. Kirk will have a tough time winning re-election next year no matter what, but the GOP is not going to complain if Duckworth and Zopp use up their resources going after each other while Kirk consolidates his warchest.