Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner holds a 14-point lead over Democratic incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn in a new Reboot Illinois/We Ask America poll.
The new poll was conducted July 28, after the candidates shared their proposed plans to balance the state's budget. More voters said they thought Rauner's tax plan (which includes expanding the sales tax to cover many services while allowing the state's income tax to fall to 2011 levels) would be more effective by a margin of 11 points.
Compared to the first Reboot Illinois poll in June, the new poll shows a growing gap between the candidates, with Rauner adding 4 points to the 10-point lead he had in the June survey.
"The results show an incremental increase for Rauner after the poll participants heard a short explanation of the two plans," said Gregg Durham, chief operating officer of We Ask America. "If -- as most of us suspect -- this race tightens up dramatically, that type of slight edge could pay big dividends for Mr. Rauner as Election Day nears."
While the percentage of respondents who said they'd vote for Rauner fell slightly between the June and July polls, Quinn's percentage fell by more than 4 points. The number of respondents who answered "undecided" increased sharply in the new poll. Check out the breakdown of who Illinoisans would vote for broken down by party lines, gender and where the respondents live at Reboot Illinois.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Quinn, upon hearing the results, called the poll "phony-baloney." He said he is not worried about the poll numbers and thinks he can win the election, despite the poll results, remarking that poll results don't always accurately predict election results. Despite the governor's dismissal, Reboot Illinois stands by the poll.