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Pritzker back to square one with Illinoisans?

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* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…

For the first year or so of his administration leading up to the beginning of the pandemic, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s polling wasn’t exactly horrible, but it was still pretty darned underwhelming. And after some spectacular crisis-induced polling spikes last year, the governor has seemingly come back down to earth.

The first poll taken by Morning Consult after Pritzker was sworn into office in January of 2019 found his job approval rate at 40%, with his disapproval at 29% and 31% not saying either way. By the end of 2019, Morning Consult had his approve/disapprove at 43-41 with 16% not weighing in. An early February 2020 poll by Fako Research & Strategies found 39% of Illinois voters rated him positively, while 36% rated him negatively and 19% were neutral.

But then came the COVID-19 pandemic and Pritzker’s numbers really shot up, mainly because of his handling of the pandemic. Three polls in April and May of last year showed his pandemic job approval rating at 70% or higher and one had his overall job approval at 61-35. “He was bullet-proof,” a top Republican consultant recalled of those heady days.

What goes up often comes down, however, and by October, a quite prescient Change Research/Capitol Fax poll had Pritzker’s fave/unfaves at 48-45, possibly due at least in part to the unpopularity of his graduated income tax proposal.

A poll released last week that was conducted February 17-21 by Chip Englander’s firm 1892 Polling had Pritzker back to even, with 41% favorable and 41% unfavorable. The margin of error was +/-3.5 percent. Englander was a key figure in Bruce Rauner’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign, but I’ve always found his polling to be reliable.

Pritzker’s apparent problem now is the same problem he had in the early days: Lots of folks say they have no opinion either way about him – 18% in this instance.

A look at the crosstabs shows this is especially problematic with his party’s base. Black voters have a favorable opinion of Pritzker (58-14), but 29% said they had no opinion of the governor. Other groups with no opinion of the governor: 23% of women and Latinos; 21% of Democrats; 19% of Chicagoans and 17% of liberals. This more than just suggests that Pritzker has a serious enthusiasm issue.

There were some other warning signs in the poll. A quarter of Chicagoans said they had an unfavorable opinion of Pritzker, which is not far off the 28% of city voters who opposed the governor’s fair tax last November. Rauner beat Pat Quinn in 2014 with 21% of the city’s vote and lost to Pritzker four years later with just 15% of the city’s tally.

“We are where we need to be in the city and Downstate,” that aforementioned GOP consultant claimed. The key, he said, is the suburbs.

The “suburbs” classification in Englander crosstabs includes suburban Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. He’s separated those counties out for years because, an associate explained, that’s where the real battleground is. Pritzker took those three counties with 57% in 2018. This recent poll has the governor’s favorables in those counties at 47%, his unfavorables at 35% and “No opinion” at 18%.

This isn’t pandemic epidemiology here. Pritzker has to find a way to convince the large number of people with no stated opinion of him to move his direction. He has plenty of time to do it, but it’s more difficult to accomplish as the months click by for an incumbent.

As the virus hopefully fades away, it’ll also be easier to use pandemic-related issues against Pritzker, like the ongoing catastrophe at the Illinois Department of Employment Security, massive small business closures, the LaSalle Veterans’ Home deaths, etc. The criminal justice reform law is also going to be a very tricky issue to handle, if other states are any guide. And he needs to put some wins on the board to help people forget about his disastrous 2020 graduated income tax referendum.

In other words, Pritzker will have his own record to contend with instead of running against a horribly unpopular Republican incumbent in an off-year election during the term of a fabulously unpopular Republican president. The overall trend will not be so friendly next time, unless Pritzker gets lucky with a fatally flawed Republican opponent, or creates his own luck by quietly helping a far-right candidate across the primary finish line.

Crosstabs are here.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 1:02 am

Comments

His numbers are soft, but frankly he can be upside down on approval and he’ll still win if the GOP nominates a Trumpian candidate.

Comment by Roman Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 6:44 am
With Madigan gone, Pritzker is the face of the Democratic Party in Illinois. That has to carry some baggage.

Comment by A Jack Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 7:20 am
==by quietly helping a far-right candidate across the primary finish line.==

That’s the key right there.

Comment by Can Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 7:26 am
===by quietly helping a far-right candidate across the primary finish line.===

Any problems that Pritzker might have (real or perceived) a far right, Trumpkin, kinda washed away all the “sins” Pritzker could carry into 2022.

For me, so much of what challenges Pritzker will face come election time will begin and end with those who see Bailey or those of his ilk as the way to win.

Helping along far right, Trumpkin candidates is a wise thing.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 7:39 am
Why in the world would he have to “help” a far-right candidate get across the primary finish line? Kinzinger already ruled out a statewide run, there are no other moderate republicans to choose from. I guess Ricketts could try to label himself as a moderate, but with his many past pro-trump comments and RNC work, idk how he circles that square. It’s early, but it’s looking like Bailey-or-bust right now for ilgop

Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:09 am
Lester =

Still far early. More candidates will emerge. Especially once the remap is more clear.

Comment by Broom Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:13 am
=== Especially once the remap is more clear.===

State Reps or State Senators?

It behooves the 17 (less Mary Miller) to make a 13-4 map and be done with it.

Shoring up Bustos, Schneider, Casten, Underwood, Foster, and Krishnamoorthi is worth making districts for LaHood, Bost, Davis, and Kinzinger good for them, and make Mary Miller’s path more difficult.

If Griffin, and the type of real money needed to take on a governor willing to spend $300K for 430 days, every day, has someone in mind, it’s likely someone with a blank/clean governing slate, or a moderate that can navigate better than a Kinzinger with these Trumpkins and worty of the Griffin investment.

It’ll be really interesting how that Griffin money will find it’s own vessel.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:21 am
In a state with Democratic legislative super majorities and all Democratic statewide office holders it can be a challenge for one’s specific relevance to be implicit.

He — and or his team — just need to come up with a narrative about why Pritzker. A story, a promise, a vision, something that gives buy in or a reason to be excited for what Governor Pritzker brings to the table specifically. What will Governor Pritzker’s next big thing be? If they can’t answer that question they might need to look outside their immediate bubble to find someone that has some ideas if they team doesn’t.

The electorate of this state is going to make it hard for a challenger to beat him in the general, and it would be such a bad idea for someone to primary Governor Pritzker to the point where someone doing it might just do him a favor by giving him a reason to talk about everything that he has been a part of accomplishing in the last two years.

Governor Pritzker has a lot of room to make his next campaign for Governor of Illinois about something big and after the last year I think we’re all ready to buy some trombones and clarinets. I think the biggest challenge to this might be something they’ve had a tough time doing in the past — expanding the inner circle.

Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:24 am
Good column. The numbers certainly don’t look good.
First thing Team Pritzker has to do is get through a primary.
Long way to go and really doubt the R’s will go with a right wing character. I suspect a moderate will step up with sufficient funding to win a primary.
Thinking Pritzker’s main problems revolve around his inability to govern and the fact voters don’t seem to trust him or his group. Funding a Bailey (as if Bailey would take the money) will only make Democrats, Independents and Republicans trust Pritzker less.
If the Governor gets better at governing he should be fine.
He should concentrate his time and energy on being the best he can be as Governor of Illinois.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:24 am
=== First thing Team Pritzker has to do is get through a primary.===

First, tell who this primary opponent is that he should worry about.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:26 am
“I suspect a moderate will show up”

…and be quickly labeled a “rino” by Bailey. Do not underestimate his appeal the bottom third of the state, especially he has got some cash.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:30 am
His numbers won’t go up with anybody trying to schedule a vaccination in the Chicago area. I’ve compared the process to trying to get Van Halen tickets back in the 80s when you had to dial Ticketmaster repeatedly for hours trying to get through. I’m using a Google Docs live spreadsheet with links to almost 100 different websites for various pharmacies and government agencies to try and register. My coworker who sent the link to the spreadsheet said it was initially developed by a 14 year-old. That left me wondering why there seems to be nothing terribly helpful out there from the State for this process. There is a whole network of volunteers that are helping seniors make their appointments because, quite frankly, the process is beyond their reach.

Comment by BigDoggie Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:32 am
Who could be a primary candidate- -
Someone who thinks a candidate who has spent at least $250 million of his inheritance, along with about 40 Billion in taxpayers money and is at 40% could be “vulnerable”.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:33 am
=== Someone===

… and that person is?

Oh… and they’ll be able to compete financially… how?

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:34 am
If that “someone” is going to run they better pop their head up soon.

The pikers are already making noise.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:39 am
==If the Governor gets better at governing he should be fine.==

This is true. In my opinion his party should be far more concerned that Pritzker is inadvertently helping the R side of the aisle than Dems should be worrying about whether he might want to financially “help” certain R candidates who would be less of a challenge for him.

Comment by Responsa Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:40 am
JB could be vulnerable, when you have that large a group with “no opinion”. That’s not normal polling results over decades of polls, and it speaks volumes. Clearly some of JB’s acts or omissions aren’t resonating with voters. IDES, DHS, IDVA are three huge issues he’s bumbling through, and they may be moving the needle. These voters may be looking towards the Republicans, although not the super-far-right wing of the GOP, and wondering if JB will get it together.

Comment by thisjustinagain Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:44 am
I wanted to point out that the patronage system used to really help out previous Dem governors. But Pritzker kept so many Raunerites in state government positions and rebuffed so many party faithfuls when he came in. Hiring instead from the private sector.
With Madigan gone the whole system that was in place driven by loyalty is in disarray.
I’m not saying that’s bad.
It’s just that the loyalty system in place that naturally led support to the top is gone.

Comment by Honeybear Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:44 am
Fire Madigan replaced by Fire Pritzker. Doesn’t have the same ring.

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:46 am
Yeah I get it. The risk to Pritzker is only that people aren’t motivated enough by him to show up and vote. In that respect, if the GOP pushes some trumpistani, I’d expect that everybody shows up to put that dog down.

But by himself, running against some quasi-moderate it’s kind of “bleh”. My feeling though is that even in that case, the almost-Missouri types will believe that thar election was stolen from Bailey or Schrimpf or whoever and not show up to back whoever the supposed ‘moderate’ primary winner is.

Comment by dan l Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:47 am
Let’s look at the polls.
Pritzker is at 40%.
I don’t think anyone in the history of the USA ever spent as much money as Pritzker on a statewide office and ended up so low in polls.
Poor governing and lack of trust appears to be more important to Illinois voters than $300,000 in daily spending.
Money is important, but Pritzker is proving the point that money is obviously not everything.
Reminds me of that old song “Can’t buy me love”.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:49 am
==But Pritzker kept so many Raunerites in state government positions and rebuffed so many party faithfuls when he came in. Hiring instead from the private sector.==

Didn’t that actually start when Blago came in? Despite the Dems out of the Governor’s office for 26 years at that time?

Comment by EssentialStateEmployeeFromChatham Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:51 am
=== I don’t think anyone in the history of the USA===

Quite the hyperbole, and only makes a lick of sense if you have an example.

Your example, of course, must include a self funding governor that has already in their first run proved the ability to build a statewide organization, literally bricks and mortar offices and staffing them.

Show that.

===Reminds me of that old song “Can’t buy me love”.===

Reminds me, can’t beat someone with no one, so it’s March, petitions begin in September… if you’re going to primary a sitting billionaire governor, it would be wise to start that campaign now.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:53 am
——
His numbers won’t go up with anybody trying to schedule a vaccination in the Chicago area.
——

Sure. Everybody knows Darren Bailey ran the queue for the bumper cars at the Clay County Fair and those skills directly transfer to managing the vaccination process for the illness he doesn’t believe in.

Also,

Just for giggles try Walgreens. There was a ton of appointment availability this morning. Might be worth adding some reasonable zip codes to your search.

https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19/location-screening

You have to create an account, make sure you edit your profile to include your gender.

Comment by dan l Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 8:57 am
Back to the Future-

I’m not saying Pritzker is unbeatable, far from it.

However, there are already two candidates for the GOP nod. A third pretty much guarantees the winner gets less than 50% of the primary, if everyone stays in.

Kind of hard to steamroll that into a mandate, especially against an extremely well-heeled incumbent.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:06 am
Starting now just burns money.
Plenty of time to see if Pritzker can get things going in a better direction.
I seem to recall Dan Walker (a nobody at the time) beat Paul Simon (a very well regarded somebody) who started out higher in the polls than Pritzker is now.
Not sure what event would push Pritzker up in the polls, but pretty certain that getting better at the “governing thing” would help.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:07 am
The moment that Pritzker didn’t have to raise taxes on the working and middle-class was the moment he ensured his reelection.

A charismatic center-right Latina would make it close. She’d lose by 5% points.

But she’d still lose to Pritzker

Comment by Julian Perez Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:09 am
=== A charismatic center-right Latina would make it close. She’d lose by 5% points===

Jeanne Ives, a higher profile candidate than usual who was able to channel anger in the party gave a sitting governor a run in a primary.

You’d need a candidate, “today”, outspoken against the Governor and forcing the party to break from a governor who seemingly signs and promotes what the two caucuses want.

Just saying.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:13 am
He’s a Democratic governor in a Democratic state. If he can get all the Democrats to vote for him he can’t lose. The enthusiasm gap among Dems is a concern and wading into the state chair and senate prez battles (and losing) probably doesn’t help. But if he can avoid fights with the legislature and important Dem constituency like labor and mix that in with a lot of ribbon cuttings, he should be fine.

Comment by TNR Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:19 am
There’s an old political saying that you can’t beat somebody with nobody. No commenters so far have identified a strong Republican candidate who has a shot at beating a very well funded Pritzker.

I think the R’s need to find a center-right candidate like Thompson or Edgar, but that wing of the state party seems to be extinct.

Comment by DuPage Dave Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:20 am
Google is my friend.
I was surprised anyone was close to spending as much as the Illinois governors race, but California was close.
When you throw in another 52 million as well as a few million more in Ad buys, I think we can all agree Team Prirzker is at the top of the group of big spenders.
And he is at 40% in the polls. Also seems Dems rejected his tax idea, his Senate Democratic President choice and his Dr. Kelly problem.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:23 am
“a center-right candidate like Thompson or Edgar”

So, in today’s political spectrum, a Democrat.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:25 am
=== And he is at 40% in the polls. Also seems Dems rejected his tax idea, his Senate Democratic President choice and his Dr. Kelly problem.===

Narrator: Has yet to give a name of someone who can win in the primary

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:25 am
=== I seem to recall Dan Walker (a nobody at the time) beat Paul Simon (a very well regarded somebody) who started out higher in the polls than Pritzker is now.===

When was Paul Simon a sitting billionaire governor?

Both men, also, have passed.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:26 am
Another commenter brought up Paul Simon as an argument for their case last week.

Those Paul Simon, Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar days are way, way back in our rear view mirror.

Let ‘em go.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:30 am
There are Democrats in Illinois who are center right now? Name a single one.

JB is at 40% and he can’t lose.

What kind of fuel are you using for your gaslight?

Comment by Lucky Pierre Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:33 am
Two potentially good things in Pritzker’s near future are the federal stimulus and no state income tax hike. Didn’t see the ILGOP’s position on the stimulus, nor any GOP gubernatorial candidate’s. That’s a lot of money coming to the state and GOP districts hit by the pandemic. Surely they have something to say about it.

Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:36 am
I am noticing no one here in these comments has yet to actually give anyone a reason to vote *for* our august incumbent governor. Surprising given his undeniably strong record of preventing Illinois from suffering amid COVID. I mean, Illinois has clearly performed better by all metrics than its neighbors and similarly sized comp states, right?

Comment by JB13 Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:39 am
Finally, to the post,

What Rich has done is breakdown some serious and significant things the governor needs to see as “flashing yellow lights” and grasp that so much of where he is now, abd the good even of that first legislative session has him (the governor) sitting at a “wash”, with 18% not showing *any* opinion.

Pritzker has a GA passing things (possibly) that will help all Dems, plus good will with Dem legislators. Pritzker hasn’t turned into Blago, even after the loss of Senate President and the state party chair. Why? Because it *is* about 60 and 30 and good governance along with self funding, that could be “enough”… all the while common interests drive the agenda.

Until Griffin finds his vessel to go after Pritzker, a person running against the governor, then Pritzker can still drive his own way to get out of these numbers that still don’t make Bailey or Schimpf electable, or put a high profile Dem in a primary against him.

It’s time for Pritzker to rebuild his infrastructure, win by sighing legislation Dems are championing, and really-really hammer down on the agencies to get their “acts” together.

These numbers are flashing lights, not stop signs.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:41 am
The Sarah Palin-ificatoin of the GOP will make it really difficult for a “center-right” candidate to emerge. They need a rich guy. Rauner was that guy, but he was grossly incompetent and had a few screws loose. So who does the IL GOP have that has enough cash and is centered enough to peel away suburban folks? Pritzker wins because the GOP is the party of dumb.

Comment by former reformer Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:41 am
=== JB is at 40% and he can’t lose.

What kind of fuel are you using for your gaslight?===

Oh. You think Bailey or Schimpf can take him down?

Huh.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:46 am
===has yet to actually give anyone a reason to vote *for* our august incumbent governor.===

18% with “No opinion”… sitting at 41-41…. and Bailey (let’s say) as the Trumpkin nominee…

And you’re looking for reasons… for?

So much will hinge on the matchup.

Can Pritzker shore up his base support and move the “no opinions”?

That’s on his crew right now

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:49 am
=== Starting now just burns money.===

LOL, you said money isn’t the mitigating factor, a hurting factor for Pritzker… but… don’t spend to get building?

I mean… seriously… lol

Either money matters or it doesn’t.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:54 am
Two years into his term on March 3rd 2016 Bruce Rauner was at 41% approval, but JB at 40% two years into his term in deep blue Illinois is just a “flashing light” and he can'’t lose?

” Illinois voters have become more polarized about the performance of Gov. Bruce Rauner in the past year, according to the latest poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.
There are 50 percent who disapprove of the job the Republican chief executive is doing while 41 percent approve. The rest were undecided.

https://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/_common/documents/opinion-polling/simon-institute-poll/psppi-simon-poll-spring-2016-rauner-direction-of-illinois.pdf

Comment by Lucky Pierre Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:57 am
=So, in today’s political spectrum, a Democrat.=

Spot on.

=There are Democrats in Illinois who are center right now? Name a single one.=

Jack Franks.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:58 am
“and he can’t lose”

Who has typed that, genius?

“a reason to vote for”

“Hi, I’m not Darren Bailey.”

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:59 am
===March 3rd 2016 Bruce Rauner was at 41% approval, but JB at 40% two years into his term in deep blue Illinois is just a “flashing light”===

You debunked your own comment…

===There are 50 percent who disapprove of the job the Republican chief executive is doing===

Rauner was deeply under water.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:59 am
=== Two years into his term on March 3rd 2016 Bruce Rauner was at 41% approval, but JB at 40% two years into his term in deep blue Illinois is just a “flashing light” and he can’’t lose?===

Not one person said he can’t lose, show who can beat him.

Also, explain the “Jeanne Ives” factor, lol

===There are 50 percent who disapprove of the job===

Are we pretending that 50 is the same as 41 or….

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 10:01 am
I don’t understand this issue with vaccines. I have scheduled three (on different days) plus advised two others to successfully register on Walgreens. Each time a 6:10 - 6:20am worked. I tested at 5:50 and there was nothing, so they must load the times at 6. They go fast but except for my first day, I have always been successful. A friend had to type in a couple zip codes, but I never had to do that.

Comment by Lady of the Lake Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 10:12 am
===There are Democrats in Illinois who are center right now? Name a single one.=

Jack Franks.==

Franks was ousted in November from his McHenry County Board Chairman spot.

Comment by phocion Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 10:19 am
=Franks was ousted in November from his McHenry County Board Chairman spot.=

Tells you all you need to know about center right democrats.

But he does answer the question.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 10:40 am
* Not one person said he can’t lose,*

TNR did.

Comment by Don’t Look Now Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:08 am
===TNR did.===

Really?

===If he can get all the Democrats to vote for him he can’t lose.===

If… you ignore the if…

I’ve yet to meet any candidate that’s gets 100% of their party’s voters.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:12 am
I think Sue Rezin has potential to give him a run for his money

Comment by Morris Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:13 am
I’m your huckleberry.

When is the latest that this well-funded, “moderate” Republican, who has yet to make a peep, can enter the race?

Comment by Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:17 am
“Sue Rezin has potential”

Gotta get out of the primary.

Bailey campaigning with a Trump 2020 sign gives him I-70 south in a rout.

Comment by Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:19 am
Can anyone name three moderate Republicans from Illinois?…one?

Comment by Dotnonymous Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:39 am
===Starting now just burns money.===

No matter what the Pritzker Campaign does it would be difficult to outdo the $50,000,000 Fair Tax bonfire.

Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 11:47 am
=I don’t think anyone in the history of the USA ever spent as much money as Pritzker on a statewide office and ended up so low in polls.=

Counterpoint: I don’t think anyone in the history of the USA ever spent as much as Pritzker on a statewide office and ended up so high in the polls.

Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 12:25 pm
can’t Griffin find an ambitious female c-suite exec who’s always wanted to be a politician and spend 300 million on her?

Comment by Lake Effect Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 12:34 pm
Perhaps a USDA that was let go by Biden or the USDA from Northern Illinois, if he is not reappointed, could step up to run for Governor as a Republican and easily win a primary.

Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 12:48 pm
One GOP poll has Pritzker’s numbers below every other public poll in recent memory and the governor is “back to square one”? Mmmk. I’m going to stick with the guy’s polling average and the general sentiment in my neck of the woods which is the guy made sure we didn’t die and say he’s looking pretty good for re-election if he wants it. Which given how some folks have acted over the last year - I’m not sure why the guy wants the job.

Comment by DuPage Dem Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 2:29 pm
===I’m going to stick with the guy’s polling average ===

lol

Published polls are from last spring, so good luck with that.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 2:32 pm
=== Two years into his term on March 3rd 2016 Bruce Rauner was at 41% approval, but JB at 40% two years into his term in deep blue Illinois is just a “flashing light” and he can’’t lose?===

Rauer pulled in just enough “blue” votes to beat Quinn years ago. When he was at 41% it also meant those swing votes were never coming back after people saw what he’d become/really was.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 4:55 pm
==published polls from last spring ==
Hmmm

Here’s one from September: https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-illinois-pritzker-poll-20200914-qng5sjq3efdttiyclgwjgf3jdm-story.html

And I thought I saw another poll earlier this year but I cannot find it.

But yes I’m sure this one GOP poll (put out I’m sure to garner just this kind of press coverage) has really captured the entire essence of the Governor’s standing with voters.

Will see what the next public poll says. I’m sure it will get the same attention if the numbers are better for Pritzker right? Or is just too much fun for everyone to fantasize about the one competent governor we’ve had in 50 years having some sort of competitive race bc it makes for interesting reading…

Comment by DuPage Dem Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 9:39 pm
===Here’s one from September===

That pollster wouldn’t share any results, including disapproval number. Hard pass.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 15, 21 @ 10:03 pm

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