The new Rasmussen poll of the Illinois Senate race gives Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias a narrow lead over Republican Rep. Mark Kirk, in the race for President Obama’s former Senate seat.
The numbers: Kirk 41%, Giannoulias 44%, with a ±4.5% margin of error. A month ago, after the party primaries, Kirk led Giannoulias by 46%-40% in Rasmussen’s polling. The TPM Poll Average puts Giannoulias ahead by 45%-40.7%.
The pollster’s analysis notes that this poll is a piece of good news, given that Giannoulias has been dealing with bad news: “The latest poll comes as Giannoulias is being questioned about his involvement in the failure of Chicago-based Broadway Bank which is owned by his family. Giannoulias, formerly the senior loan officer at the bank, says he hasn’t worked there in four years and that the bank is a victim of the crash in the housing market that has hurt other banks.”
