Alexi Giannoulias | Democrat for U.S. Senate

Just moments ago, Public Policy Polling released a new general election poll showing that I am the only candidate who can beat Republican Congressman Mark Kirk and who can keep President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands. The poll has me beating Mark Kirk, 42% to 34%.

No other Democrat polls higher than Mark Kirk. 

From the Chicago Tribune:

Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk have been campaigning against each other as if they were the only ones running for the U.S. Senate. A Tribune/WGN-TV poll sheds some light on why: Both have opened up leads ahead of the Feb. 2 primary elections.

I expected my first state of the race to be on a different topic, but I just can't help myself when I see reporters cutting and pasting memos from Mark Kirk without any context.

Yesterday, the Kirk campaign released a memo claiming that he has a lead in the U.S. Senate race. 

Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies are pleased to present the topline results of a 772N autodial survey of likely 2010 general election voters in Illinois.  The interviews were conducted November 3rd, 2009.

But there's more to the story.

Democratic Alexi Giannoulias leads Republican Mark Kirk in the race for U.S. Senate in Illinois, 46 - 43 percent. In addition, voters approve of the job Giannoulias is doing as state Treasurer by more than a 2:1 margin.