Latest Ill. gov poll: Blagojevich leads Topinka by 9 points, Green Party candidate at 11 percent

Despite his enormity of bad press--well deserved, I'd like to add--against him, incumbent Rod Blagojevich leads his Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka in the latest St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll, 47 percent to 38 percent.

Going back to the Republican primary, Topinka has been forced to fight to improve her image because of constant negative ads run against her.

Oh, Judy has been hitting Blago hard--both candidates negative ratings are quite high, but with Illinois' status as a solid blue state not in jeopardy, Blagojevich is doing just enough to keep a safe lead for himself with a little more than a week to go before election day.

However, there seems to be no end to the flow of corruption stories about the Blagojevich administration.

In his 2003 inaugural address, Blagojevich told Illinoisans:

I will govern as a reformer.

It hasn't happened, his administration is at least as corrupt as his predecessor's, future jailbird George Ryan.

Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate is the beneficiary of voter disillusionment with the major party candidates--he has the support of 11 percent of likely voters according to the Post-Dispatch poll, and that number is consistent with other recent surveys.

Greenies tend to attract voters from the Democratic base, but Whitney is a strong supporter of gun-owner rights--saying he backs "responsible ownership of guns."

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