Though currently occupied by the mostly lame duck Roland Burris, the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois left vacant by Barack Obama has a new wannabe tenant: Jacob Meister. He’s a ‘mo.
With Burris opting not to run for a full term, that leaves Democrats hoping to keep the Senate seat in their control. Which leaves Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, former city of Chicago inspector general David Hoffman, and Chicago Urban League leader Cheryle Jackson all facing off against Meister, a commercial litigation attorney.
Having made his campaign public in September, Meister is already running television ads — focusing on jobs, jobs, jobs. And he’s going to need all the media exposure he can nab; polling puts him in the back of Democratic challengers. And while he isn’t making his sexuality a huge part of his campaign (if elected, Meister would become the first openly gay U.S. senator), Meister says, “I think it’s actually a strength of my candidacy,” Meister said of his sexual orientation to the Edge. “I think it resonates with Illinois voters as they recognize that this is the civil rights issue of today. Illinois is a progressive state.”
Yeah, so good luck with that whole gay marriage thing.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
FakeName
Illinois is not a progressive state. It is liberal Chicago surrounded by conservative everything else.
danielle buonacuore
~~~*^ thats rude *^~~
Andrew
it doesn’t matter either way. Illinois has a tradition of voting moderate Republicans to statewide/national positions, considering how heavily Democratic Cook County is and has always been.
Mark Kirk, who represents most of the relatively (compared to the nation) liberal North Shore suburbs, will win the Republican nomination and the Senate seat. He’s cosponsored ENDA and the Matthew Shepard Act, voted no on both marriage amendments, and is generally a common-sense guy.