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Sanders, Bloomberg, 'Undecided' Lead Illinois Primary Poll

All the Democratic candidates on stage for the most recent debate filed paperwork to appear on the ballot in Illinois, as did six candidates who didn't make the debate cut.
PBS Newshour
All the Democratic candidates on stage for the most recent debate filed paperwork to appear on the ballot in Illinois, as did six candidates who didn't make the debate cut.

With less than a month until Illinois’ primary election, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is leading in a new poll of Illinois voters. But the field is still quite divided.

Sanders had 22% support among Democrats, with former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg just 5 points behind at 17%.

The poll of likely voters is from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It was taken from February 10-17 — before the most recent debate.

Next in the survey are former Vice President Joe Biden (14%), former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigeig (13%), and Sens. Amy Kloubuchar (8%) and Elizabeth Warren (6%).

Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer and “Someone else” brought up the rear at 1% each.

The wildcard in the results is that 17% or Democrats are still undecided.

President Trump, meanwhile, has just a 39% approval rating in the state.

Pritzker’s Job Approval Up 11 Points Since Last Year

Just over half of Illinois voters approve of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s job performance.

Fifty-one percent either strongly or somewhat approve, versus 38 percent who disapprove. That’s up 11 pointes over where Pritzker was a year earlier.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker enters the Illinois House of Representatives for his budget address.
Credit handout / Illinois Office of Communication and Information
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Illinois Office of Communication and Information
Gov. J.B. Pritzker shakes hands with lawmakers as he enters the Illinois House chamber for his annual budget speech on Feb. 19, 2020. A poll released the next day reported he has a 51% approval rating.

He’s most popular in Chicago and its suburbs and less so Downstate. And as one would expect, his support breaks down along party lines, with three in four Democrats giving him a thumbs up, and three in four Republicans turning thumbs down.

The poll also asked about Democratic Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who’s up for re-election this year. His numbers were similar to Pritzker’s — with 52 percent approving of his job performance.

Copyright 2020 NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
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