Obama's 1996 election

[NickMPK]

Barack Obama's first run for office was in 1996 for Illinois State Senate. Apparently, the only reason he was elected was because he mounted court challenges against all four of his primary opponents, including the incumbent, and got all of them knocked off the ballot for having questionable petition signatures, so he could run unopposed.

I read this in a magazine today and am surprised it hasn't gotten more press. It seems like something opponents of Obama would be jumping all over.

I don't have a link to the magazine article, but here's similar newspaper article discussing the circumstances of this election.

Does anyone else find this troubling?