Quinn Leads Race for Dem Governor Nod; GOP Side a 'Jumble'

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who took over the office when Rod Blagojevich was impeached and removed, leads State Comptroller Dan Hynes, his challenger for the Democratic nomination, by 33.9 percent to 16.5 percent with 14.2 percent preferring someone else and 35.4 percent undecided, according to a Simon Institute Poll conducted Sept. 8 - Oct. 9.

However, there is no clear frontrunner among the six names the poll tested for the Republican nomination. In fact, "someone else" gets more support at 13.9 percent than the leader of the pack, State Sen. Bill Brady, who gets 10 percent. State Sen. Kirk Dillard polls 7.5 percent and everyone else gets 4 percent or less. Nearly 58 percent are undecided.

Institute director David Yepsen said the sample sizes of the poll have a high margin of error and noted that since going into the field, names of some additional candidates have been floated.

However, he said, "We still feel pretty comfortable in saying the Republican race is a jumble and that while Governor Quinn leads Dan Hynes, he doesn't have a lock on the nomination."