GOP state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka is preparing to run for governor --
raising money, polling and reaching out to key state and national Republicans.
If all goes as planned, Topinka, elected three times as state treasurer and a former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, is expected to announce a bid to topple Gov. Blagojevich when the legislative session ends, sometime in late spring or early summer.
Topinka's own polling shows her at a good staring point:
A poll of 800 likely Illinois voters was conducted March 6-8 by Republican
pollster Linda DiVall with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
[snip]The poll showed that Blagojevich's approval rating was at 48 percent and
his disapproval number at 45 percent.
[snip]
Asked if it was time for a new person to be governor, 47 percent said
"yes."
In a hypothetical November 2006 horse race, Blagojevich and Topinka
start in a tie. Asked to choose between the two, 42 percent were for Topinka and
45 percent for Blagojevich, with 11 percent undecided.
Topinka probably is the Republican's best hope right now for retaking the governor's mansion. I'd take her own polling results with a grain of salt but it's not hard to imagine Blagojevich actually having some substantial negatives. It's been a tough couple of years to have to have run the State.
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