Illinois Rep. Mark Steven Kirk is favored to win the 2010 Republican nomination for the Senate, but the Feb. 2 primary will include a handful of conservative critics of the centrist congressman.

The latest entrant in the Republican primary is Pat Hughes, a lawyer and real estate developer who announced his candidacy Wednesday, according to the Daily Herald newspaper in suburban Chicago.

Mark Steven Kirk (CQ/Scott J. Ferrell)

Hughes appeared Aug. 8 at a candidates’ forum in Bloomington that was organized by some conservative county GOP chairmen. He talked about his background and views and also criticized Kirk for voting for a “cap and trade” climate change bill that the House passed in June with the support of just eight House Republicans.