What does $66k mean for Bill Brady? Lead in GOP race

Bruce Rauner’s new TV ad touts that he spent just $18 on a new watch and it works just fine, compared to Pat Quinn’s “watch” in Springfield.

If Bill Brady had enough money to run an ad, it may take on the same theme — only against Rauner. Rauner has boasted of raising $3 million compared to the anemic fund-raising of Brady — roughly $66,000 in the third quarter. A We Ask America poll commissioned by Capitol Fax is showing that GOP gubernatorial Brady remains strong in the polls — leading his three opponents.

From the report: “State Sen. Bill Brady continues to maintain his lead over the rest of the pack, according to the poll of 1,191 likely GOP voters. Brady scored 25 percent, to Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s 18 percent and state Sen. Kirk Dillard’s 14 percent. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 2.94 percent. “This poll parallels tracking polls we’ve been conducting in the Republican governor’s race,” said We Ask America pollster Gregg Durham. “While Brady and Rutherford continue to stay a step ahead of Rauner and Dillard, the evidence points more to the top two contenders’ name recognition advantage than anything else.” The overall numbers have moved so little that it’s difficult to say if there’s much of a pattern here. However, Sen. Dillard appears to be doing significantly better in the collar counties, coming in first place with 24 percent in last week’s poll versus 17 percent in August (second place behind Rauner) and 13 percent in June.” Remember that Brady spent tens of millions on a heated 2010 race in which he ultimately lost to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. So the base of name recognition is there. But it’s early. And one important point from the numbers — the survey shows that 33 percent of voters are undecided, meaning there’s much room for growth in this four-way contest. With Rauner pouring money in early and often, he’s betting he can change the numbers.

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