Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is in a tight battle with Republican businessman Bruce Rauner as the race heads into the stretch on November 4. But Rauner's background is preferred by more voters, according to a new poll.
In an
Early & Often/We Ask America poll, Quinn leads 44.5 percent to 41 percent, which is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.02 percentage points. But when asked whether they prefer a gubernatorial candidate with a political or business background, most chose business, the
Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Forty-one percent chose business experience, compared to only 24 percent who picked political experience. Twenty-five percent preferred both, while 8 percent preferred neither.
But those preferring business over politics tend to live downstate, the Sun-Times reported. Political junkies live in Chicago or its suburbs where people grow up on ward politics, pollster Gregg Durham told the paper.
A strong vote in the city could give Quinn a re-election victory.
Chicago voters "think that a political background is a real strong thing and the thought of an outsider is not appealing," Durham said. "The farther you get away from Chicago, the stronger the opposite prevails."
"We’ve always expected the polls to bounce back and forth," Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said, "but it’s clear voters are ready for a clean break from twelve years of failure under Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn."
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