New Poll Suggests Quinn Trails Brady by Wide Margins

A new poll from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale shows Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) with a nearly nine-point lead over his opponent, Democrat Pat Quinn, in the race for Illinois Governor.

The data, released Tuesday, gives Brady 38 percent of the vote to Quinn's roughly 30 percent.

Simon Institute Director David Yepsen said Quinn should be worried about the 22 percent of voters who still say they are undecided. The report also indicates that Republicans are "more enthusiastic" about this election than Democrats, which could translate to fewer people voting on Election Day.

"That's a huge number, and it certainly can tip in any direction," Yepsen said. "I think that's a bad thing for Governor Quinn that the undecided are that high because in a race featuring an incumbent, many undecided will tend to break for the challenger come election day."

As for the senate race, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk are nearly tied with Kirk at 37.3% support to Giannoulias' 36.8%. Yepsen said he is not surprised by the nearly dead heat between Giannoulias and Kirk. He said the results of the poll show the battles will be won or lost in the collar counties, where voters remain on the fence on many issues in the race. Third party candidates LeAlan Jones of the Green Party has 3.3 percent and Libertarian Mike Labno has 1.8 percent. There are 20.7 percent who are undecided or who favor another candidate.

(Photo of Pat Quinn courtesy of Chris Eaves & photo of Bill Brady courtesy of the Bill Brady for Governor campaign)