Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney has recently seen an unfortunate slump in his poll numbers, from a high of 11 percent on August 15 to a low of 2 percent on September 3. A new poll released yesterday, which is the first Rasmussen poll to include the candidate, shows Whitney at 4 percent.
At this same time in 2006, the first time he ran for Illinois governor, Whitney was first starting to be included in polls, and his numbers ranged from about 2 percent to 6 percent. In the actual election, he garnered 10.4 percent.
The new Rasmussen poll also shows that 56 percent of voters know who Whitney is and 25 percent view him favorably. Also, in a broader context (especially considering that there is also a Libertarian on the ballot for this office [correction: independent former Democrat Scott Lee Cohen is also on the ballot]), 51 percent of respondents said that they had voted for a candidate not affiliated with either major party before, and 27 percent said they’re more likely to do so this election, while 43 percent said less likely and 25 percent said about the same.
AND IN THE NORTH EAST:
Democracy still under attack!
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Jill for Governor
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To: [email protected]
Jill Stein for Governor of Massachusetts
Friends, Thanks to your efforts, the Boston Media Consortium has extended their deadline for raising $100,000 by one week – till Oct.1. And they have admitted us into one (but only one) of two big televised debates – the Sept. 21st debate. So the fight goes on!
It’s probably not very useful to compare these polls. The Chicago Tribune poll is the only one to include all 5 ballot-qualified candidates, so it is probably the most accurate, and can serve as a meaningful baseline for future polls that include all 5 candidates.
The Rasmussen poll only includes three of the five candidates.
The PPP poll was taken back before the Cohen and the Libertarian candidate were officially placed on the ballot, so they get a passing grade at the time for inclusion but it’s a fairly meaningless poll — even as a baseline — now that there are five candidates.
Daniel, do you know how much Cohen has raised? Can he really afford that much advertising?
It isn’t just the Libertarian on the ballot. Rich Whitney is also likely losing support to Scott Lee Cohen. It seems silly for Rasmussen to leave out Cohen when he is a former Democrat who is willing to spend millions in his Independent bid for Governor. Although Whitney has a strong campaign organization I think Cohen will poll stronger with being able to mount statewide advertising.