Since entering the U.S. Senate race, former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman has repeatedly suggested that fellow Democrat Alexi Giannoulias can't beat GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk in the general election.  Today, the Giannoulias campaign released a poll that indicates, if the election were held today, their candidate would fare better against Kirk than Hoffman.  Here is the pair of head-to-head results (the only data made available by the Giannoulias camp):

Giannoulias: 46%
Kirk: 43%

Hoffman: 39%
Kirk: 48%

*Results based on a sample of 805 likely general election voters conducted October 25th – 28th.  Margin of error: +/- 3.5%

A Rasmussen poll conducted in mid-September found somewhat similar results: Giannoulias and Kirk tied at 41 percent and Kirk leading Hoffman by 10 percentage points. Rasmussen also had Kirk leading Democrat Cheryle Jackson by four points.

Speaking of Jackson, she filed her nominating petitions just an hour before the deadline today.

And last week Hoffman became the second candidate, after Giannoulias, to make a pit stop at the White House to discuss the race with Obama aides.

And for what it's worth, Kirk told the Tribune that he "expects" to be running against Giannoulias in the general election next year:

“I’m going to confine my campaign to earning the Republican nomination on Feb. 2 and then there is plenty of time for a general election,” Kirk said. “I expect it will be Giannoulias, but you know what? My job is to win the support of my fellow Republicans.”