A spokesman for Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias told TPM Monday he’s not worried about third-party candidates affecting the Illinois Senate race — despite a Public Policy Polling survey released last week that found Democratic State Treasurer Giannoulias neck-and-neck with GOP Rep. Mark Kirk, 31%-30%. Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones polled at a surprising 14%.
Giannoulias spokesman Matt McGrath said that at this point “nothing would surprise us” about polling numbers, as “it’s still very early” in the campaign.
The Green Party was already on the ballot for the Senate race for President Obama’s old seat, since under Illinois law if a party gets more than 5% of the vote in an election, they are automatically put on the ballot the next time around. When asked if he thought Jones had a shot at winning the election, McGrath said, “I don’t see that happening.”
But he did add that this week is the filing deadline for all third-party candidates. This means that there may be other candidates from “other ideological persuasions,” but as far as the Giannoulias campaign is concerned, “the more the merrier.”
“We’re confident that he’s the candidate who’s got the record,” said McGrath, whether “there’s two or six people on the ballot.”
About Mark Kirk, who dodged reporters at a Metropolitan Planning Council lunch Monday that featured both candidates, McGrath said that “it’s very telling,” and that Kirk’s campaign is “unraveling.”
Kirk has been taking some heat after it came out that he’s embellished his military record.
Giannoulias has problems of his own. He’s faced some negative publicity after his family’s bank, Broadway Bank, failed in April.
