Illinois Election 2018: Last Democratic Governor, AG Primary Poll

CHICAGO — A final poll ahead of the March 20 Illinois gubernatorial primary showed J.B. Pritzker maintaining a six-point lead over his nearest competitor. A statewide poll of likely voters conducted last week also indicated the races for attorney general and Cook County board president are within the margin of error, while the incumbent Cook County assessor trails=ed by nearly 10 points.

The poll asked 1204 likely Democratic primary voters their preference between March 13 and 16. It was conducted by Victory Research, which describes itself as an independent polling company that is not affiliated with any of the gubernatorial campaigns.

It found Pritzker with a narrow lead his nearest opponents, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss, among every demographic group, including gender, geography, race and age.

The semi-monthly Illinois Poll showed the race is closest among African-American voters, with Pritzker and Kennedy both registering support at 32 percent.

Among early voters, Pritzker's lead rose to more than 10 points, according to the poll. However, 16 percent of voters were still undecided heading into last weekend.

When asked how likely they would be to change their mind about which candidate they support, nearly 18 percent of people who spoke with pollsters said they could still change their preference.

Biss voters were the most likely to say their mind was made up. More than 28 percent of Pritzker voters said they could still change their minds, just over 20 percent of Kennedy voters were open to switching but less than 9 percent of Biss voters were open to the possibility.

Overall, 16 percent of likely Democratic voters said they were still undecided.

Pritzker had 32 percent support, Kennedy moved into second place with 26 percent, while Biss was favored by 22 percent of respondents.

The previous edition of the poll showed Pritzker with 27 percent to Biss' 23.5 percent and Kennedy's 17.3 percent support.

As for the attorney general race, former Gov. Pat Quinn has a two-point lead over state Sen. Kwame Raoul. The margin of error in the poll was 2.82 percent.

The poll's sample included 701 likely Democratic primary voters in Cook County and asked them their preferences for county board president and county assessor. The smaller sample means a larger margin of error – 3.7 percent – for those results.

Incumbent board president Toni Preckwinkle led former Ald. Bob Fioretti by just over 1 percent – 41.9 percent to 40.8 percent.

In the assessor's race, incumbent and county Democratic Party Chair Joe Berrios is trailing by nearly 10 points to challenger Fritz Kaegi. Andrea Raila, whose candidacy was restored by a state appellate court, had 12.4 percent support in the poll.

Governor:

• J.B. Pritzker – 32%
• Chris Kennedy – 26%
• Daniel Biss – 22 %
• Undecided – 16 %

Attorney General:

• Pat Quinn – 26%
• Kwame Raoul – 24 %
• Scott Drury – 9.8 %
• Sharon Fairley – 8.1 %
• Nancy Rotering – 5.9 %
• Aaron Goldstein – 3.9 %
• Jesse Ruiz – 3.9 %
• Renato Mariotti – 2.6 %

Cook County Board President:

• Toni Preckwinkle – 41.9 %
• Bob Fioretti – 40.8 %

Cook County Assessor:

• Fritz Kaegi – 41.8 %
• Joe Berrios – 32.2 %
• Andrea Raila – 12.4 %

Read more:

• Your Guide To The 2018 Illinois Primary
• Who have newspapers endorsed in Illinois primary races?
  
• Democrats Make Closing Arguments In Illinois Governor Debates
• Democratic Candidates For Illinois Governor Hold Final Debate
  
• Democrats Running For Illinois Governor Hold 1st Televised Debate
  
• Rauner, Pritzker Lead Illinois Primary Election Polls
  
• Poll: Biss leaps over Kennedy into 2nd place, Pritzker's lead slips

Final Democratic Gubernatorial Debate (WTTW):

Penultimate Democartic Gubernatorial Debate (WBEZ):