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Originally Posted by wolf
If I am following things correctly, however ... is it not the case that he was chosen to run, rather than choosing to run in a state he is not from, as is the case of the junior senator from NY?
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It's not as if Keyes got a letter in the mail, slapped his forehead and said "OH SHIT! I've been DRAFTED! Now I HAVE to move to Illinois and run for the Senate there."
He was _approached_ by the Illinois GOP and invited to run. He knew that the only reason he got the invitation was that (a) Ryan couldn't keep his pecker under control, (b) a local non-politician FOOTBALL COACH turned them down, and (c) well, er, they couldn't find anyone else from Illinois who wanted to run. Ringing endorsement, that. With all that in mind, he _chose_ to accept their invitation and run in a state he is not from, much like a certain junior senator whom he swore he wouldn't imitate.
At least Hillary won her party's primary, where the Dems of NY could've tossed her out if they'd been sufficiently offended by her presence.
The backroom conversation probably went something like this:
ILL GOP: "Hey, Alan, we need _somebody_ to run against Obama. You're still black, right?"
KEYES: "Last time I checked, yes."
ILL GOP: "We'll slide a bunch of money your way if you'll come over here and sling mud for a couple of months. We all know you won't win, but that's never bothered you before. Whaddya say -- a little public humiliation, but you get a national stage on which to bray about abortion politics for months on end, you get to smear a young up-and-coming Democrat, and you get to go back home in November?"
KEYES: "...It's a go. Bring Fritos."