Mark Kirk: Difference between revisions
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===Possible Endorsement by Jesse Jackson Jr.=== |
===Possible Endorsement by Jesse Jackson Jr.=== |
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In May of 2010, Rep. [[Jesse Jackson Jr]]. (D-Il) told Politico that he was contemplating giving his endorsement to Mark Kirk instead of his fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.<ref>http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2309428,will-jackson-endorse-for-senate-052410.article</ref>. While Jesse [[Jesse Jackson Jr]] has not yet endorsed Congressman Kirk, he has failed to endorse [[Alexi Giannoulias]] <ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37673.html</ref>. |
In May of 2010, Rep. [[Jesse Jackson Jr]]. (D-Il) told Politico that he was contemplating giving his endorsement to Mark Kirk instead of his fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.<ref>http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2309428,will-jackson-endorse-for-senate-052410.article</ref>. While Jesse [[Jesse Jackson Jr]] has not yet endorsed Congressman Kirk, he has failed to endorse [[Alexi Giannoulias]] <ref>http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37673.html</ref>. |
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Jesse Jackson Jr. is the son of civil rights activist [[Jesse Jackson]]. |
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===Repute of Military Record=== |
===Repute of Military Record=== |
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Revision as of 18:49, 19 June 2010
Mark Kirk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | John Porter |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kimberly Vertolli (2001-2009) (divorced)[1] |
| Residence | Highland Park, Illinois[2] |
| Alma mater | Cornell University London School of Economics Georgetown University Law Center |
| Occupation | Attorney, Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1989-present |
| Rank | Commander  |
| Unit | U.S. Navy Reserves |
Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15th, 1959) is an American politician who is currently serving his 5th term as a member of the US Congress, representing the 10th district of Illinois. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Co-Chairman of the GOP Tuesday Group. [4].
Congressman Kirk is the Republican nominee for the 2010 Senate Election in Illinois.
Personal History
Mark Kirk was born in Champaign, Illinois to Judith Reeve and Francis Gabriel Kirk [5][6].
In February 1998, Mark met his future wife, Kimberly Vertolli, who was at that time a naval intelligence officer, by chance, while the two on duty together at the Pentagon [7] . “It was supposed to be my weekend off … but Saddam had just thrown out the weapons inspectors and we were preparing for a strike on Baghdad” Kimberly told Capitol File Magazine [8]. The two married in August of 2001 [9].
After 8 years of marriage, the two separated, finalizing their divorce in the summer of 2009. Reports have noted that the divorce was an amicable one and the two remain close friends [10].
U.S. House tenure
Elections
Kirk defeated 10 candidates for Congress in the 2000 Republican primary. He then won in general elections with 51% (2000), 69% (2002), 64% (2004), 53% (2006) and 54% (2008). His opponents were Lauren Beth Gash, Hank Perrit, Lee Goodman and, most recently, Dan Seals (06 & 08). In 2008, Kirk defeated Democratic challenger Dan Seals by a six-point margin.
Committees
Campaign for Senate
On July 20, 2009, Kirk announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris. On February 2, 2010, Kirk won the Republican primary with 56.6% of the vote; no other candidate had as much as 20%.
Possible Endorsement by Jesse Jackson Jr.
In May of 2010, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Il) told Politico that he was contemplating giving his endorsement to Mark Kirk instead of his fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.[11]. While Jesse Jesse Jackson Jr has not yet endorsed Congressman Kirk, he has failed to endorse Alexi Giannoulias [12].
Jesse Jackson Jr. is the son of civil rights activist Jesse Jackson.
Repute of Military Record
In June of 2010 the Washington Post reported that Kirk claimed to have been named the “Intelligence Officer of the Year,” when in reality the award was given to his unit. Controversy regarding Kirk's military record continued as other statements surfaced, such as Kirk stating “the last time I was in Iraq I was in uniform, flying at 20,000 feet, and the Iraqi Air Defense network was shooting at us.” Kirk has since clarified his previous statements. “I simply misremembered it,” he told The Chicago Sun-Times, referring to his military record. [13]
On June 7th 2010, Medal of Honor recipient and advocate of Veteran’s benefits, Allen Lynch, commented on the situation to ABC 7 News. “To me, in my opinion, it’s just a bunch of nit picking. Plus, he’s done a Christ ton for veterans. So I think this is being blown way out of proportion" [14]. A number of veteran groups have also come out in support of Kirk along with his commanding officer who claimed "Mark was the best intelligence officer I ever worked with," while presenting Kirk with the Rufus Taylor Award and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal [15].
Electoral history
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Lauren Beth Gash | 115,924 | 49% | Mark Kirk | 121,582 | 51% | |||
| 2002 | Henry H. Perritt, Jr. | 58,300 | 31% | Mark Kirk | 128,611 | 69% | |||
| 2004 | Lee Goodman | 99,218 | 36% | Mark Kirk | 177,493 | 64% | |||
| 2006 | Daniel J. Seals | 94,278 | 47% | Mark Kirk | 107,929 | 53% | * | ||
| 2008 | Daniel J. Seals | 138,176 | 47% | Mark Kirk | 153,082 | 53% | |||
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2006, write-ins received 1 votes.
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References
 |
- ^ [1]
- ^ "About Mark". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "Barack Obama, candidate for President, is 'UCC'". United Church of Christ. February 9, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
- ^ http://www.tgpac.com/docs/pages/about_us.aspx
- ^ http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=130075
- ^ http://kirk.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=350&Itemid=93
- ^ http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/05/kirk_lawmakers_wife_splits_for.html
- ^ http://www.law.northwestern.edu/news/article_full.cfm?eventid=2592
- ^ http://www.wingsprogram.com/pdfs/Kimberly%20Vertolli-Kirk%20Bio.pdf
- ^ .http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/05/rep-mark-kirks-divorce-to_n_212082.html
- ^ http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2309428,will-jackson-endorse-for-senate-052410.article
- ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37673.html
- ^ Pallasch, Abdon (June 4, 2010). "Kirk says he 'misremembered' military record". Chicago, IL: Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ Pearson, Rick (June 3, 2010). Chicago, IL: Chicago Tribune.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Text "titleMedal of Honor Allen Lynch on Mark Kirk's Military Record" ignored (help) - ^ Pearson, Rick (June 3, 2010). Chicago, IL: Chicago Tribune.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Text "titleMedal In response to Alexi Giannoulias’ attack on Mark Kirk’s military record" ignored (help) - ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
External links
- U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk, House site
- Kirk for Senate, Campaign site
- Articles needing cleanup from June 2010
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from June 2010
- 1959 births
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
- Cornell University alumni
- Georgetown University Law Center alumni
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- New Trier High School alumni
- United States Navy officers
- United Church of Christ members
- Illinois Republicans
- Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom veteran politicians