In the race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly known as Barack Obama's, Illinois voters have spoken. Next up: The real big mouths weigh in.

On Tuesday, voters said that U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, 50, a moderate Republican, will face Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, 33, a Democrat, in November. Those voters' voices are expected to be drowned out by national political party operatives and cash that will pour into Illinois during the general election campaign.

The Republican Party, energized by the victory of conservative Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, sees the former Obama seat as a symbolic prize. For the same reason, the Democratic Party will work equally hard to keep the seat in a race that is expected to thrust Illinois into the national political spotlight, burn through tens of millions of dollars and reach new heights on the negative campaigning scale.

Mark Kirk

Born: Sept. 15, 1959

 

Current office: U.S. Representative, 10th Congressional District

 

Lives in: Highland Park

 

Education: Bachelor's degree from Cornell; master's from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Georgetown

 

Experience: Staff of Rep. John Porter. World Bank, State Department, law firm of Baker & McKenzie

 

Something extra: A Naval Reserve intelligence officer, Kirk has served during conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia.

"This is going to be full employment for Democratic and Republican operatives. If you see roving gangs of blue-suited Blackberry users, beware," said Kitty Kurth, a Democratic Party strategist.

The race isn't even 24 hours old and it already has taken a decidedly nasty tone. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has posted on YouTube an anti-Giannoulias ad called "Alexi Giannoulias: He'd Make Tony Soprano Proud." It's narrated by a guy with a Sopranos-like voice and alleges Giannoulias has ties to the mob.

Although the ad states specifically that it is "not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee," Kirk was delivering the same message on the morning after the primary voting.

During an appearance on WGN's morning show, he came out swinging. His first two blows were a sharp left jab alleging mob connections and a right upper cut about Giannoulias' family connections to the troubled Broadway Bank. Like the ad, Kirk's comments finished with the body blow: Giannoulias is a politician in the "Blagojevich tradition."

Next up: Giannoulias. He mostly stayed on message. For him, that means talking about jobs and painting Kirk as a "Washington insider" who caters to corporate special interests. Giannoulias pledged to be the first U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois to refuse contributions from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists.

The general election is far in the future and anything can happen before November. As more than one pundit has pointed out, there is enough time between Illinois' February primary and the general election for someone to conceive and give birth to a child.

In the political world, nine months is enough time to complete a congressional and Illinois legislative session, rack up months of economic statistics and unemployment reports and begin the federal corruption trial of Illinois' blow-dried and blustery former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Alexi Giannoulias

Born: March 16, 1976

 

Current office: Illinois Treasurer

 

Lives in: Chicago

 

Education: bachelor's from Boston University, law degree from Tulane University

 

Experience: Community banker, board of directors of the Community Banker’s Association of Illinois Legislative Committee.

 

Something extra: founder of the AG Foundation, a not-for-profit charity.

At this point, Giannoulias is the clear underdog. He heads into the general election after a bruising primary campaign in which challenger David Hoffman hit him repeatedly on $150 million in losses in the Illinois Bright Start college investment program the treasurer's office manages as well as Giannoulias' ties to Broadway Bank.

The bank is run by his family, which has taken millions in payouts while the bank was failing, actions the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is investigating. Giannoulias was in charge of the lending operations there before becoming state treasurer in 2006. During his tenure, the bank made millions in loans to Tony Rezko, a convicted felon who was a primary Blagojevich fund raiser.

Hoffman supporters believe the extraordinarily early primary likely worked in Giannoulias' favor. Hoffman had been surging in the polls -- so much so that if the primary had been held in late March, the results could have been very different. Illinois moved up its primary in 2008 to give favorite son Obama a boost at the start of his presidential primary campaign.

Obama, who was not able to persuade Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to enter the Senate race, did not endorse in the primary. But Giannoulias likes to note that he and Obama are basketball buddies, and Obama is expected to take center stage in the general election campaign, even if he never personally enters the fray. It is his former Senate seat, once removed, and both national parties see a win in the race as a big symbolic victory.

Since Obama's election, Roland Burris has served as Illinois' junior senator. He was appointed by Blagojevich, whose aggressive attempts to allegedly sell the seat to the highest bidder led to his indictment and impeachment. Burris was so tainted by the process that he chose not to seek election on his own, leading to an open Senate race that has both parties salivating.

Obama's role in the campaign may not be all good for Giannoulias. Republicans are expected to quickly let Illinois voters know that Obama believes, "Bankers don't need another vote in the United States Senate. They've got plenty." At least that's what he said when Massachusetts elected Brown to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Ted Kennedy's death.