Mark Kirk (Illinois)
As with Crist, the NRSC has already endorsed Representative Mark Kirk as the establishment choice to run for Barack Obama's old Senate seat. But conservatives have united behind Patrick Hughes, a lawyer who heads the antitax group Sensible Taxpayers Opposed to Increased Taxes, who has won the endorsement of former Chicago Bears football coach Mike Ditka, Eagle Forum founder and conservative legend Phyllis Schlafly and Paul Caprio, head of Family-PAC. The Illinois Tea Party movement said in a statement they are "going to work hard as hell to make sure Mark Kirk doesn't win." The few polls that have been done, though, show Kirk has little to worry about ahead of the February primary. Even so, Kirk, a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership who is unpopular with the NRA and is pro-environment, has reportedly reached out to Sarah Palin to try to win her endorsement and blunt any conservative challenge.