Voter Disillusionment in Illinois

Voters face unhappy choice

Illinois voters are unhappy with Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but they like Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka even less, giving the incumbent the advantage less than a month before the election, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.

The poll reveals widespread voter disillusionment even before the latest allegations of corruption, setting the stage for a lackluster turnout in the Nov. 7 election. And as the election moves closer, voters are becoming increasingly unsure about where to turn. [...]

The survey showed Blagojevich with the support of 43 percent of the voters polled, while Topinka had 29 percent and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney had 9 percent. Another 17 percent were undecided, and 2 percent offered choices for governor not among the names appearing on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The poll, conducted Oct. 8 to Wednesday among 600 likely voters, has an error margin of 4 percentage points.

Blagojevich's 14 percentage point advantage over Topinka represents an incremental increase from the 12 percentage point lead he held in a Tribune poll conducted almost a month ago.

Add me to the list of unhappy Illinois voters. Blagojevich has been a big disappointment. He will win again, but it might it a costly victory for Illinois Democrats if Blagojevich does not overcome this ethics troubles.