The new survey of Illinois by Public Policy Polling (D) shows State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President Obama’s former Senate seat, starting out with the advantage in a prospective general election with Republican Rep. Mark Kirk, though undecideds remain high.
Kirk, the clear favorite for the GOP nomination, was tested against three Democrats. Giannoulias led Kirk by 42%-34%. Kirk had statistically insignificant leads over the other two Democrats, edging former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman by 37%-36%, and Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson by 38%-36%. The party primaries will be held this Tuesday.
PPP communications director Tom Jensen writes: “The reason for Giannoulias’ ascent is that where he was winning 60% of the Democratic vote last spring he’s now at 72%. As his party’s voters have become more familiar with him over the course of the primary campaign his support from them has increased. Right now he leads 72-7 with Dems while Kirk is up 76-5 with Republicans. Kirk also has a 33-27 lead with independents. It’s close to impossible for a GOP candidate to win statewide in Illinois without at least a double digit lead among independents and a double digit level of crossover support, and right now Kirk isn’t there.”
