Billy Goat Beer Summit: Mark Kirk, Alexi Giannoulias Meet For A Post-Election Beer (PHOTOS)

The race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by President Obama was a rough one. The negative ads seemed endless and harsh words were relentless--but it's all over now.

On Tuesday night, Republican Congressman Mark Kirk was victorious over his Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias. Though Giannoulias was emotional during his concession speech, he mentioned calling Kirk and wishing him the best.

During Kirk's victory speech, he also mentioned the call, saying that Giannoulias was very gracious and the two agreed to meet each other for a beer at Chicago's famous Billy Goat Tavern when the race was over.

"I got to like him personally on the campaign, even as we threw stuff at each other," Kirk told an NBC Chicago reporter Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the two met at Chicago's iconic tavern (known for both the Chicago Cubs curse and a Saturday Night Live sketch) and attempted to put the mud slinging behind them.

"I know it sounds really cheesy, but people are getting killed out there in this recession and I just think we've got to put down partisan, silly politics and we should all work together," Giannoulias told NBC Chicago. "We should focus on helping people."

Giannoulias told the station he was a little sleep deprived and sad about the results, but turned up because the race was not about him.

"I don't want, especially the young people of Illinois, to think that everything in American politics is about yelling at each other," Kirk told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Forty-six percent of the electorate voted for Alexi and my job is to represent them too."

When asked whether the "Billy Goat Beer Summit" was going to be symbolic of future consensus on Capitol Hill, Kirk replied that he hoped so.

Check out photos of the summit here: