The Illinois Senate seat Barack Obama once occupied may well be picked up by Republican nominee Rep. Mark Kirk. The hapless Democrat nominee Alexi Giannoulias is sinking in polls, and now faces an almost unthinkable event. Politico reports:

His family's business, Broadway Bank, was seized by regulators last month. He's had trouble getting robust support from a White House that originally preferred another candidate. And political writer Stu Rothenberg devoted a column last week to asking "Is it time for Democrats to shove Giannoulias out?"

Now, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who did not endorse anyone in the Democratic primary, is flirting with the idea of backing Republican nominee Mark Kirk in the general election.