The Replacements: Poll Finds Voters Favor Quinn Over Burris

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 11, 2009 9:40PM

The last six weeks have been pretty wild for us here in Illinois. We've seen the appointment of a new U.S. Senator (Roland Burris) and the promotion of the Lt. Governor (Pat Quinn). The Tribune recently conducted a poll seeking favorability ratings for Quinn and Burris. The poll was taken from 500 registered voters in early February with a 4.4 percent margin of error. And what did the poll find?

For Sen. Burris:

• 34 percent view him favorably, 18 percent view him unfavorably, and 43 percent have no opinion (5 percent apparently found that question too difficult to answer).
• 37 percent said they wanted him to seek reelection in 2010, 33 percent said he should not seek reelection in 2010, and 29 percent said they didn't care (1 percent apparently found that question too difficult to answer).

For Gov. Quinn:

• 49 percent view him favorably, 6 percent view him unfavorably, and 40 percent have no opinion (5 percent apparently found that question too difficult to answer).
• 48 percent said they wanted him to seek reelection in 2010, 15 percent said he should not seek reelection in 2010, and 37 percent said they didn't care

And in case you're wondering, the Democratic Primary for these (and other) offices is February 2, 2010. Petitions for candidacy will begin circulating in August.

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert