Brady vs. Quinn: Our accidental gov comes up short in latest gubernatorial poll

If Illinoisans had to pick a governor today, Republican Bill Brady would handily defeat incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, 45 percent to 38 percent according to a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the state's likely voters.

Ten percent of likely voters remain undecided following bizarre primaries which saw the Democrats oust their duly elected lieutenant governor nominee and the Republicans go without a nominee for weeks while every last ballot was counted.

Rasmussen's analysis concludes "Quinn continues to fall far short of the 50 percent support viewed as critical for incumbents at this stage of a campaign. Perhaps most telling at this point is the poor showing he’s making in a state that trends Democratic. ..."

"Voters not affiliated with either of the parties prefer Brady to Quinn by better than three-to-one."

According to Rasmussen's polling, Quinn the accidental governor (thanks to Rod Blagojevich's impeachment) receives a failing grade from the state's voters for the manner in which he's handled the state budget crisis. Quinn has insisted on tax hikes and has put forth a budget plan that would deny public schools hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.

Fifty-six percent disapprove of Quinn's performance, with 33 percent strongly disapproving. Just 9 percent strongly approve of Quinn's gubernatorial record. Quinn is also viewed very favorably by just 13 percent of voters.

Nineteen percent, meanwhile, hold a very favorable view of Brady, Rasmussen Reports shows, "but nearly one-out-of-five voters (18 percent) don’t know enough about him to have any kind of opinion."

For more Rasmussen Reports surveys on various topics, visit the polling firm's web site.

Dennis Robaugh can be reached at dennis@southlandsavvy.com