IL-05: Blagojevich Sets Primary and General Election Dates for Special Election

With Rahm Emanuel having resigned from Congress to become Chief of Staff to President-elect Barack Obama, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has quickly set the special-election date for Emanuel's Chicago North Side seat.

Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) announced today that he has set April 7 as the date for the special election to fill former Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s (D) 5th district seat.

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Blagojevich represented the north Chicagoland seat before Emanuel, who was re-elected to his fourth term on Election Day. Even with scandal-ridden Blagojevich still in office, the district is expected to stay in Democratic column.

The seat should be safe for whatever Democrat manages to win the nomination. With one blip on the radar (the 1994 election of Republican Michael Flanagan after the incumbent, Ways and Means chairman Dan Rostenkowski, was indicted on corruption charges) the seat has been in Democratic hands since time immemorial, and sports a PVI of D+18.

The primary is only two months away, on March 3, and is almost certain to draw a host of competitors:

In a statement from his official office, Blagojevich designated a special primary election for March 3, 2009.

"I am pleased to set these election dates so that the people of the Fifth Congressional District can have a representative in Congress as quickly as possible," Blagojevich said in a statement. "With our nation in a recession, we need to ensure that Illinois’ voice is being represented in Washington D.C. to get our economy back on track."

With so little time before the primary, the advantage goes to the candidates who can raise the most money in the shortest amount of time, and have the greatest name recognition. However, given that the primary could be won with 25% of the vote or even less (as there are expected to be as many as 10-12 Democrats running), it's by no means a certainty that the more established candidates will win. With such a big field, the race for the nomination is wide open.