And On Deck for Obama’s U.S. Senate Seat is…

Add comment March 24th, 2008

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

The decision won’t have to be made for almost a year, if at all. But speculation already is rampant in Springfield about who Gov. Rod Blagojevich would appoint to fill Sen. Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat if Obama leaves it for the presidency (or vice-presidency) in January 2009.

Possibilities include U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Chicago, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, or state Sen. James Clayborne, D-Belleville, any of whom would maintain Illinois’ position as home to the nation’s only black senator.

Or he could turn to state Attorney General Lisa Madigan or state Comptroller Dan Hynes, on the premise that these are people Blagojevich wouldn’t mind sending to another time zone.

Blagojevich could even appoint himself.

If more influential Democrats continue to line up behind Obama and his opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton to step aside, speculation like this will only increase and will move further from political bar banter and into the public domain.

Talk Back: If Obama’s seat is open after the November election, who would you like to see appointed to the U.S. Senate? Is it important for another African-American fill the seat?