How’d a guy like that get so far in GOP politics? Whose fault is that?
When Kirk ran for Congress, in 2000, the race had 11 Republicans. Since Kirk was an aide to then-Rep. John Porter (the congressman Kirk wanted to replace), Porter endorsed Kirk. The conservative vote split, helping Kirk win the primary with 31% of the vote. In 2002, ‘04, ‘06, and ‘08, Kirk didn’t have any primary opponents, and he won the general elections because the district has many voters who vote for any Republican, since he was the lesser of two evils. He usually got 52%-55%. During this year’s U.S. Senate primary, no other well-known Republican ran, so Kirk won with 57%.