NATION : GOP Drive Targets Sen. Simon
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ROCKFORD, Ill. — Republican Lynn Martin, a five-term congresswoman and close ally of President Bush, today launched her bid to unseat one of the nation’s best-known Democratic senators, Paul Simon.
Martin, 49, formally began her campaign for the U.S. Senate more than four months after she announced her decision to take on Simon in next year’s election.
“Illinois deserves better” is the theme of her campaign, Martin said. “Illinois deserves better than a part-time senator who sees America through a rear-view mirror and wants to go back to the 1930s.”
During his first Senate term, Simon crisscrossed the country in a failed bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination for President.
GOP strategists have made Simon a top target for defeat in next year’s Senate campaign, a decision that will bring extra money and campaign assistance for Martin.
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