Mark Kirk Pulls Away In Republican Senate Primary

The latest polls are out for the major primary battles, and the Republican Senate race looks like it's all but sewn up.

With eight days before the primary, Mark Kirk polled at 47% among likely Republican voters. No other candidate polled above 10%, with Patrick Hughes a very distant second. While 35% of voters described themselves as "undecided," Kirk would still be in the lead even if all of them broke for Hughes.

The ease of Kirk's nomination race, especially compared to the relatively tighter one on the Democratic side, has caused some concern on the left--and glee on the right--over the prospect of another Scott Brown-style upset in the land of Lincoln. On Monday, David Axelrod reassured Chicagoans that President Obama would do everything in his power to prevent this from happening.

On the other side, Alexi Giannoulias still looks likely to be the Democratic nominee, with a double-digit lead over his two main rivals, though David Hoffman and Cheryle Jackson both look to make gains in the coming week.