Obama's Home State Holds First Primary Election of 2010

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2010— -- Illinois is holding the first-in-the-nation 2010 primary elections today, testing whether the voter unrest which helped elect Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts reaches all the way to President Obama's home state.

"What you have here in Illinois is a very weakened Democratic Party," Rick Pearson, a veteran political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, told ABCNews.com's "Top Line" webcast Monday. "There is no doubt that the White House is very concerned."

Voters will choose the Democratic and Republican candidates who will face off in November for governor and for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Obama.

It's the first gubernatorial primary since ex-Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich was removed from office.

Since Obama won the White House, his old seat has been filled by Democrat Roland Burris who decided not to seek the Senate seat in his own right.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the former lieutenant governor who assumed the governor's office after Blagojevich resigned, finds himself in a tough Democratic primary with Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Quinn appears to be getting a run for his money in part because of the anti-incumbent mood which is prevalent in the country, and is under attack for his plan to boost income taxes and for his handling of a prison release program.

Aiming to capitalize on voter unrest, Hynes sent an e-mail to his supporters Monday with a subject line which read: "Shaking Up the Status Quo."

Beyond facing attacks over his current job as governor, Quinn is also under assault for a job he held more than two decades ago.

Hynes is airing a television ad featuring decades-old video of former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington saying that he was "nuts" to ever hire Quinn as Chicago's revenue director. The footage was filmed in 1987 after Washington, Chicago's first African-American mayor, fired Quinn from his job. In the video, Washington slams Quinn and said appointing him in the first place was a terrible mistake.