Top Kirk adviser preps for ’16 campaign

One of Sen. Mark Kirk’s (R-Ill.) top advisers is leaving his official office to work on the campaign side — and is expected to play a major role in Kirk’s reelection efforts.

{mosads}Eric Elk, Kirk’s Illinois chief of staff and a longtime political adviser going back to Kirk’s early days in the House, is leaving the senator’s official office. A Kirk adviser says the move is in preparation for what’s expected to be a hard-fought Senate reelection battle.

“He’s going to have a huge role in the race. No one knows the state like Erik Elk. He’s going to be center of the political operation in the state,” Kirk spokeswoman Alissa McCurley tells The Hill. “He’s 100 percent running, and Eric Elk is not leaving Kirk, he’s just going to the political side. … We’re ramping up our political operation early knowing that 2016 has already started.”

McCurley said it had not yet been determined whether Elk will serve as an outside consultant or have a full-time role with the campaign. Elk has long been a political animal and has run many of Kirk’s previous races.

He told Crain’s Chicago Business that he was leaving the senator’s official office, though he made it clear he’d be involved in Kirk’s reelection battle.

“It’s a new challenge, and the opportunity to do something different,” he said. “I’m going to be as helpful as I can to the senator. … I’m definitely going to be part of his team for 2016.”

Kirk has said time and again that he’s running, looking to put to bed questions about his health following a severe stroke in 2012.

A handful of other longtime Kirk staffers, including field guru Mike Zolnierowicz and former Communications Director Lance Trover, were involved in Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner’s (R) campaign. Zolnierowicz will be Rauner’s chief of staff, while Trover is expected to stay with Rauner as well.

Kirk narrowly won his 2010 race against a flawed candidate, and Democrats have him in their crosshairs this cycle. Potential candidates include Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D), though she’s passed on previous top-of-ticket races, and Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), though that might be unlikely because she’s about to have her first child. Other potential candidates that have been mentioned include Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart (D).