Duckworth campaign flips wigs on Senate rival Kirk

Ever want to see Sen. Mark Kirk with a Photoshopped Donald Trump wig? It’s your lucky day.

U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s Senate campaign staff has for weeks criticized Kirk for saying he’ll skip the Republican National Convention in July. And on Thursday, the Duckworth campaign announced an online poll asking voters which hairstyle Kirk should adopt “while he’s avoiding” the convention.

The poll is in response to comments Kirk made last week about skipping the convention: “I’ve got to really do my hair that week. Make sure that my hair is just perfect,” Kirk joked on WGN radio.

Kirk’s office on April 14 confirmed the senator will be focusing on his re-election campaign instead of attending the convention in Cleveland. That means he’ll be away from Trump and a media melee, where he could have made some headlines.

“Senator Kirk has his own re-election to win, so he will be working hard toward that goal, not going to the Republican convention in Ohio,” Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl said in a statement at the time.

Duckworth’s campaign has been quick to use the decision for campaign fodder. It’s a campaign move aimed at linking Kirk to Trump, the controversial Republican frontrunner.

“Republican Mark Kirk can hide from the Republican presidential convention but he can’t hide from his pledge to put loyalty to the Republican Party first and back Donald Trump when he is the GOP nominee,” Duckworth campaign manager Matt McGrath said in a statement on Thursday. “Since Kirk was being politically expedient when he decided to skip the Republican convention, we thought he’d want to know how Illinois voters believe he can make his hair great again.”

The poll features Kirk donning the hairstyles of Republican presidential candidates Trump, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It also features Kirk wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.

All are PhotoShopped onto Kirk’s head.

Kirk’s campaign on Thursday called the stunt a “shallow attack.”

“An embarrassingly shallow attack by Rep. Duckworth,” Artl said. “Her ridiculous attack is yet another proof point as to why she is ranked as one of the least effective members of Congress.”