Jul 9, 2009 4:42 pm US/Central
Burris Won't Run For Senate In 2010: Source
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) fields questions from the media following a Small Business Administration roundtable discussion at the University of Illinois on May 27, 2009, in Champaign, Ill.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris will not run for election in 2010, a source tells CBS 2.
Democrat Burris, a former state attorney general and comptroller, was appointed last year to fill the vacant Senate seat of President Obama by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But the circumstances surrounding that appointment – including federal charges that Blagojevich sought to sell the seat to the highest bidder – have dogged Burris.
Blagojevich, now facing a corrpution trial, was kicked out of office by state lawmakers early this year.
Word of Burris' expected departure from the field of potential Senate candidates comes a day after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced she will seek re-election to her state office, rather Senate. Madigan would have been a front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Democrats who have expressed an interest in running include Chicago businessman Christopher Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago Urban League chief Cheryle Jackson. Meanwhile, Republicans hope to capitalize on the Blagojevich scandal and reclaim the seat for the GOP. North Shore Congressman Mark Kirk is interested in running.
It was apparent right from the moment that he took office Burris had virtually no chance of winning at the polls.
The senator faces not only rock-bottom voter opinion numbers, but he's raised barely any money while others who plan to run statewide next year are preparing to raise up to $25 million each for their campaigns.
Burris scheduled a public appearance for Friday afternoon in the South Loop to make a "major announcement," his Senate office said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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