Report: Obama Favors Jarrett to Succeed Him in Senate

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition co-chair Valerie Jarrett is his choice to succeed him as Illinois’s senator, CNN reported Sunday.

Citing a “prominent Democratic source” close to the president-elect, CNN said that Obama preferred Jarrett, a longtime confidant and adviser, over a field of Democratic politicians who have begun to circle the wagons in the race.

Illinois Reps. Jan Schakowski (D) and Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D) have been rumored as potential candidates to replace Obama in the Senate. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) will be charged with appointing a successor after Obama’s eventual resignation to assume the presidency.

Jarrett is a Chicago-area lawyer and businesswoman who was one of the earliest advisers to the Obama campaign.

–Michael O’Brien