Giannoulias Stepping In To Trouble

Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (D) held a press conference to discuss his family’s banking problems, but his refusal to answer a question whether he held responsibility for the bank’s struggles led to a tough AP story today:

Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias refused to provide details Thursday about whether his decisions contributed to his family bank's financial problems, saying five days before the election that those questions can wait for another time.

"If I'm fortunate enough to make it out of the primary, we can have that conversation," the Chicago Democrat told reporters.

In a follow-up interview with The Associated Press, Giannoulias denied he was ducking questions.

He said that because he no longer works for the bank, he doesn't have detailed information about its financial problems and what caused them. He also said he will have no role in family decisions about how to address the bank's problems.

Giannoulias looks like he's playing the political equivalent of the prevent defense in football – he’s led in the Democratic primary throughout the race because of his money, support from leading Democratic officials, and is hoping to hold onto that narrowing lead over David Hoffman with the primary just several days away.