Posted on 09/20/2005 8:24:41 PM PDT by metalmanx2j
CHICAGO - Governor Rod Blagojevich has piled up a lot of campaign cash since his election in 2002 but his popularity figures have not followed suit.
According to an automated phone poll taken by SurveyUSA, a nationally polling operation, the job Governor Blagojevich has done in his nearly three years in office meets with the approval of only 36% of Illinoisans while 56% of Illinoisans disapprove of the job he has done.
The poll was of 600 Illinois adults with a margin of error of +/- 4.1%. The data was collected from September 16-18 and was commissioned in conjunction with KSDK-TV (St. Louis). The timing of the data collection for the survey coincides with the news cycle in which the Governor was besieged with questions over his involvement with the dealings of state pension funds after Chicago attorneys Joe Cari and Steve Loren entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors last week, admitting their roles in an alleged extortion scheme they say was designed to generate campaign contributions.
The demographic breakdowns highlight a gender gap for Blagojevich-among men. Blagojevich’s job approval is 42% among women as compared with only 30% among men.
The only demographics for which Blagojevich garners more who approve than disapprove are among blacks (46%-43%), self-identified Democrats (48%-44%), self-identified liberals (53%-38%) and Cook County residents (49-46%).
Blagojevich's approval ratings are the lowest among any Democratic Governor in the nation, according to SurveyUSA. Only four Governors in the nation have worse approval ratings, accoring to the SurveyUSA results.
Some Republicans believe the Governor’s poor poll numbers are no surprise and represent a real opportunity for the GOP’s return to leadership of state government.
“If we can credibly represent ourselves as the party of reform then the Democrats are in real trouble,” said long-time GOP campaign consultant Charlie Johnston, who is working for congressional campaign of Dave McSweeney in the Eighth Congressional District. “Unless we run Richard Nixon or George Ryan, we have an excellent chance.”
Johnston believes that the GOP must make a clean break from the past in order to re-connect with a corruption-weary Illinois electorate.
"It’s no surprise that the governor’s approval rating is in a steady decline," said Joe Calomino, Operations Director for the GOP gubernatorial campaign of businessman Ron Gidwitz. "This governor has raided our pension funds, taxed employers out of our state, has played a shell game with our state's budget, increased our state's debt, failed to productively address our education funding problem and has implemented a 'pay to play' style of governing that is business worse than usual."
© 2005 IllinoisLeader.com -- all rights reserved
And the Republican party here in Illinois is in shambles.
Pass a resolution saying no one named "Ryan" can run.
How can 36% still be so stupid?
I will support him because I am half serbian.
He's a turd. I hope my home state will come to it's senses. It's being run into the ground by Dems who have taken over the state.
IL really needs a viable Pubbie candidate.
they all probably live in blue chicago :)
Maybe they've come to realize the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms is worth preserving after all.
This clown is the spitting image of Eddie Munster. I could not look at Kerry without thinking of Lerch from the Addams family. If Hillary would grow her hair long she might pass for Moriticia. You got to give it to the Democrats piggy backing on fond Freudian associations of imbecilic television shows.
That's for sure, but Blagos rating should be a big fat 0% for approval. He's one of the biggest jokes of a governer, but Illinois seems famous for Joke for Governer or Crooks for Governer!
The guy is a tool that looks like Count Chocula (envision him in a cape).
Blag the Slag is such a putz...I hope Edgar runs again....he knows how to get the state back into good fiscal health....the state GOP is very much a basketcase....I hope the feds put that bastard George Ryan away for a very long time.
Sorry to hear that, one should really have a better reason for supporting a candidate. I'm half Irish, but sure wouldn't support a Kennedy!
Edgar was the only decent governer I can remember for Illiois!!!
oops. Illinois! My typing gets bad when I hear Blagos name mentioned!!!
As far as the pubbies, they rank right up there with Illinois nazis (VFW).
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