IL-Chicago Sun Times/WAA (R): Rauner (R) up 13

[Tender Branson]

50.76% Rauner
37.86% Quinn

POLL DETAILS: The Early & Often Poll is based on a random sample of 1,085 likely Illinois voters in the Nov. 4 election. It is an automated poll conducted by We Ask America. Respondents were contacted by telephone on Wednesday, August 6, 2014. About 28 percent were reached on their cellphones. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.12 percentage points, larger for demographic subgroups.

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/exclusive-poll-rauner-seen-reform-candidate-not-quinn/sun-08102014-1251pm

[Tender Branson]

It's sad when major independent newspapers like the CST use partisan/joke pollsters like We Ask America.

Instead they could use a quality pollster like SurveyUSA, but WAA probably offers them their (joke ?) polls for 1/5 of the SurveyUSA price ...

[sg0508]

Again, IL Democrats have one of the strongest histories of "coming home'' in the end. Look out.

[muon2]

It's sad when major independent newspapers like the CST use partisan/joke pollsters like We Ask America.

Instead they could use a quality pollster like SurveyUSA, but WAA probably offers them their (joke ?) polls for 1/5 of the SurveyUSA price ...

The CST clearly does not view them from their partisan roots, since they are the decidedly left-leaning major Chicago paper. In IL WAA is being viewed in much the same way that PPP was in NC in the years just after they moved beyond their original partisan roots as a Dem pollster. They weren't always so great and national GOP-leaning pundits railed at their Carolina results back then as Dem spin. PPP pushed on to gain a national reputation. Why shouldn't WAA follow the same path?

[Tender Branson]

It's sad when major independent newspapers like the CST use partisan/joke pollsters like We Ask America.

Instead they could use a quality pollster like SurveyUSA, but WAA probably offers them their (joke ?) polls for 1/5 of the SurveyUSA price ...

The CST clearly does not view them from their partisan roots, since they are the decidedly left-leaning major Chicago paper. In IL WAA is being viewed in much the same way that PPP was in NC in the years just after they moved beyond their original partisan roots as a Dem pollster. They weren't always so great and national GOP-leaning pundits railed at their Carolina results back then as Dem spin. PPP pushed on to gain a national reputation. Why shouldn't WAA follow the same path?

That may be true, but which major independent newspaper has ever hired PPP to do polls for them ?

These quality newspapers usually use non-partisan pollsters, which means that the CST is not a good example for others when they start using partisan ones ...