Some interesting news on the GOP side of the 2010 contest: Capitol Fax and others confirm that former state Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna has announced that he will run for governor with State Sen. Matt Murphy as his running mate. In recent months, Murphy had been ramping up a gubernatorial campaign of his own, but apparently was convinced by McKenna to lower his sights to lieutenant governor.

So what do we know about McKenna? Well, in attempting to trump up allegations of voter fraud in Lake County last October, he shamelessly advanced the false claim that a goldfish had been "registered to vote" there.  He also has a knack, in Aaron Chambers' words, for "taking rhetoric to an extraordinary height."  Case in point: At the state fair last year, he suggested that the Democratic infighting in Springfield is "more outrageous" than the struggle over slavery during Abraham Lincoln's time.  The quote:

“Abraham Lincoln was famous for his House Divided speech. If he were here today, he would have to tell a story of a house divided that’s even more outrageous than the one that lived in his time.”

This may give us some idea of what to expect from his gubernatorial campaign.