A Kennedy may run against Burris

Well this is really old news, but should be noted none the less:

Another Kennedy may enter the spotlight of US politics. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 45-year-old Christopher Kennedy is looking to give Sen. Roland Burris a run for his money next year. The president of Chicago-based Merchandise Mart has reportedly hired a pollster to test the waters for a possible run for the senate seat vacated by President Obama.

You might have seen this news first in Michael Sneed on Tuesday:

Sneed has learned Chris Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, may be this/close to entering the U.S. Senate sweepstakes from Illinois.

• • To wit: "Right now, it's an 85 percent chance Chris is going to do it," a top Kennedy source tells Sneed.

• • Poll 'em: Sneed is told Kennedy, who runs the Merchandise Mart, has commissioned Obama pollster John Anzalone -- and has talked to media consultants Larry Grisolano and John Kupper, who now run the firm once headed by David Axelrod, President Obama's senior adviser.

• • Translation: The poll, which is expected at the end of the week, "will give him a better lay of the land in this ever-changing race," the source said.

• • The rationale: Top Dem party sources tell Sneed a Kennedy candidacy would bring instantaneous name recognition. "He's also lived here for 25 years, is in his late 40s, comes from a business background, and has that Kennedy magic," the source added.

As of yet Sen. Burris hasn't decided if he's going to run for re-election. If you go by polls, one might conclude that the odds are certainly against him.

Burris' approval rating among likely Democratic primary voters is only 27%, to 49% disapproval. In a primary against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who has already declared his candidacy, Giannoulias leads with 49% to Burris at 20%. Adding Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is publicly mulling a candidacy and will announce her intentions in June, it's Giannoulis 38%, Schakowsky 26%, Burris 16%.

If state Attorney General Lisa Madigan were to get in, though, she could take the whole field: Madigan 44%, Giannoulias 19%, Burris 13%, Schakowsky 11%. If Madigan were to run for governor instead, she also has a 45%-29% lead over the new Governor Pat Quinn, who took office after Rod Blagojevich was removed from office.

There's still a long way until 2010. How could things look better for Burris in the long run?