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A new poll of registered voters in Illinois shows a definitive trend in the 2022 election cycle, with a trio of Democrats holding commanding leads in their respective statewide races.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters, conducted by the Illinois Broadcasters Association and Research America, Inc., found that incumbents Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Sen. Tammy Duckworth are all holding leads over their Republican opponents as the general election draws near.
In the governor’s race, Pritzker holds a large lead in the poll, picking up 49.7% of the vote. State Sen. Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee in the race, trails by 22 points at 27.7%, while Libertarian candidate Scott Schluter is at 6.3%.
According to the IBA, 0.1% of voters chose another candidate and 3.6% said they wouldn’t vote for any candidate in the race. Approximately 12.6% of respondents said they were undecided.
Mark Harris, a strategist for Bailey, dismissed the findings of the poll, saying that internal polls show the state senator just two points behind Pritzker.
"It coincides with the national environment getting better for Republicans," he told NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern. "We're very confident that this is a close race and our data is showing it getting closer, and I don't think JB Pritzker would be spending $100 million-plus if he thought this were a 20-point race."
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The Pritzker campaign fired back after the poll's release, calling the razor-thin margin in Bailey's internal polling "junk."
"Darren Bailey's desperation is showing," a campaign spokesperson told NBC 5. "Just like the junk internal poll he tried to pass off last month, these numbers are wildly-off-base and inconsistent with all other public polling. Voters know Darren Bailey is too extreme for Illinois, and those who haven't already voted early for Governor Pritzker will undoubtedly reject Bailey in November."
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The polling data was similar in two other statewide races, according to the poll. Incumbent Attorney General Kwame Raoul holds a 42.6-to-25.2% lead over Republican contender Thomas DeVore, while Libertarian candidate Dan Robin is polling at 5.7%.
A large chunk of voters, 22.3%, are undecided in the race, while 4.2% say they won’t vote for any of the candidates on the board.
In the race for Illinois’ Senate seat, incumbent Sen. Tammy Duckworth holds a 48.2-to-28.5% lead over Republican challenger Kathy Salvi. Libertarian Bill Redpath received 5.5% of the vote, while 14.2% of voters are undecided in the race.
The margin of error in the three polls was 3.1%, according to the IBA.
The findings echo another poll of 770 likely voters released over the weekend by the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, which found that Pritzker held a 15-point lead over Bailey and showed Duckworth holding a 14-point lead over Salvi.
The poll also found that 37% of downstate voters had a favorable opinion of Pritzker, while 32% of downstate voters had a favorable opinion of Bailey.
Statewide, 52% of voters had an unfavorable opinion of Bailey, according to the pollsters at Public Policy Polling. The WBEZ/Sun-Times poll had a margin of error of 3.5%.
