SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Republicans rallied around first-term U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Wednesday after a top fundraiser briefly suggested that the moderate elected to Barack Obama's former seat should abandon his re-election bid due to a recent series of public gaffes. Kirk, who suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012 but is eyeing a second term next year in one of the nation's most competitive Senate races, was widely criticized last month after being heard on an open microphone calling South Carolina Sen.