Luis Gutierrez asks for Obama’s Senate seat

Could U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez take over the Senatorial seat being vacated by president-elect Barack Obama? The Democratic congressman of Puerto Rican background reportedly expressed interest in taking over for Obama. Yet the odds that Gutierrez will be named to the Senate may be slim:

Gutierrez met with (Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich) and told the governor he would like to be a "caretaker" senator for the next two years working to get comprehensive immigration reform passed in the Senate instead of fund-raising to get re-elected to the Senate in 2010, Gutierrez said.

But Blagojevich said he was looking for someone who wanted the post long-term, Gutierrez said. "It's basically over -- unless he calls me back," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez won his ninth term in the House this month and has since called on Obama to tackle immigration reform once he enters office.

Image- Chicago Public Radio
Sources- AP, chicagotribune.com, Chicago Sun-Times, Bellville News Democrat, abc7chicago.com