Cook County board president backs Toi Hutchinson for Jackson Jr. seat

By Cameron Joseph - 01/28/13 05:30 PM ET

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (D) is endorsing Illinois state Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D) to fill former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s (D-Ill.) seat, a boost for one of the field's front-runners.

Preckwinkle is viewed as a reformer and rising star in Chicago Democratic politics, and her endorsement is notable both because she did it in order to stop former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), who is also running, and because she's the former boss of Robin Kelly (D), one of the other first-tier candidates in the race.

Preckwinkle said she "thought long and hard and frankly struggled with this decision at times because Robin Kelly is a former employee of mine and a friend," but said she wanted to see a candidate coalesce enough support to defeat the former congresswoman.

Halvorson, the only white candidate in a district that is heavily African-American, cut a more centrist profile during her one stint in a GOP-leaning suburban district with her strong opposition to gun control and centrist voting record on economic issues.

"I felt compelled to get involved in this race at this time because several polls have shown that Debbie Halvorson has a tenuous lead in this election because of her high name ID as former member of Congress in 2010 and a candidate again in 2012," Preckwinkle said, according to prepared remarks.

She then quoted the Chicago Tribune's editorial endorsing Jackson Jr. in 2012 because Halvorson was "alarmingly unqualified" to serve in Congress, and added that she is "The most conservative candidate running and was one of the most conservative Democratic members of Congress in all of Illinois."

Kelly's campaign responded to the endorsement by hitting Hutchinson for her own gun record.

"President Preckwinkle might be able to look past Senator Hutchinson's A rating from the NRA, but the voters in the Second District won't," the campaign released in a statement. "They want someone who will fight against the NRA not stand with them. Robin Kelly is the one candidate ready to stand with President Obama to bring common sense gun control to help families throughout Chicago and the Southland."

Recent polls show that Halvorson has clung to a narrow lead in the race because none of the other candidates have yet been able to coalesce support. More than a dozen Democratic candidates are running for the seat, though Hutchinson and Kelly appear to be Halvorson's strongest foes.

This post was updated at 6:10 p.m.