Russ Stewart: Republicans on the March to Evolution or Extinction?

Reading this column from local columnist Russ Stewart, Republicans don't have a prayer in either Cook County or Chicago. If you believe this column even voting Green Party in this part of the state is more palatable than voting Republican. By proxy, if you're running statewide as a Republican you need a good chunk of the electorate up here in Cook in order to win statewide.

We can look towards the 2010 gubernatorial election to see this at work. Although the Governor's race was very close so was the US Senate race where Republican Mark Kirk won. Both were close but the Republican - Bill Brady - failed to win the governorship against a vulnerable incumbent and the Republican won the US Senate race against a vulnerable challenger.

Two questions:

• How did it come to pass that Republicans no longer had a prayer in Cook County or Chicago?
• What's the difference in the candidacies of Bill Brady vs. Mark Kirk in their respective races? That is why did one lose win and the other victorious?