(06/17/06) -

Blagojevich Steady, Still Leads in Illinois

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many voters in the Prairie State would give a new term to their current governor, according to a poll by the Glengariff Group. 41 per cent of respondents would support Democrat Rod Blagojevich, while 34 per cent would vote for Republican state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many voters in the Prairie State would give a new term to their current governor, according to a poll by the Glengariff Group. 41 per cent of respondents would support Democrat Rod Blagojevich, while 34 per cent would vote for Republican state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.

A quarter of all respondents are either undecided or would vote for other candidates. On Mar. 21, Blagojevich and Topinka won their respective primary elections. Support for Blagojevich remained stable since April, while backing for Topinka fell by 10 points.

Blagojevich has acted as governor in Illinois since January 2003. The former U.S. congressman defeated Republican Jim Ryan in the November 2002 election with 52 per cent of the vote.

Earlier this month, Topinka criticized the current Illinois administration, saying, “I think you see a pattern of intimidation, a pattern of ‘you will even break the law if we tell you to, and you will do it or you will be fired or you will be hurt.’”

Blagojevich campaign spokesman Sheila Nix dismissed the comments, adding, “If she’s talking about taking responsibility for actions in her own office, there’s a lot of unresolved issues about state employees doing campaign work that she has refused to answer.”

The gubernatorial ballot will take place on Nov. 7. Since 1949, Illinois has had five Republican and five Democratic heads of government.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the gubernatorial election?