Poll: More than a third undecided as Irvin and Bailey lead in GOP primary for governor

[May 12, 2022] 

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, are frontrunners in Illinois’ Republican gubernatorial primary, according to a new poll, but more than a third of respondents remain undecided. The economy is the major issue with crime a distant second.
 

There are six Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in the June 28 primary. Whoever advances is expected to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November.

A new poll from WGN-TV/The Hill/Emerson College shows Irvin leading with 24.1% support and Bailey in second with 19.8%. But the poll also shows about 36.9% of respondents say they are still undecided on who should top the Republican ticket come November.

The dynamic changes from region to region. Likely voters in more rural areas support Bailey (30%) over Irvin (16%), according to the poll. For those polled with college or postgraduate degrees, Irvin leads Bailey 30% to 17%, while Bailey leads 23% to 17% among those without a college degree.

The other four candidates trail with less than 10% each: businessman Gary Rabine (7.8%), entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan (7.3%), attorney Max Solomon (2.3%) and former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, (1.9%)

Early voting for the June 28 primary begins May 19.

The economy is the top issue for 54.2% of those polled. Crime came in second (15.2%) with immigration (6.5%), COVID-19 (4.3%), education (3.6%), health care (4.7%) and the war in Ukraine (2%) rounding out the concerns.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.