I disagree completely. Any Reagan Conservative would have given him a run, and probably would have won handily. Had the Moderates in the Republican party ceded control to the Reaganites before the election, there may well have been coattails too.
Sorry, I should have been clear. I was talking about the 2004 Illinois Senate race. It was stacked for Obama by the Illinois media. Polls already had Obama beating every possible opponent after Jack Ryan dropped out (who was going to lose to him anyway).
These folks rewrite history now, as if the race was Keyes’ to lose. There was no opportunity for anyone but Barack Obama to win.