Rauner Disagrees Quinn Is Rebounding Amid New TV Push
(CBS) – There's a possible shift in momentum in the race for governor in Illinois, following a surge of TV spots like one unveiled by the Pat Quinn campaign Friday.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on what some are calling Quinn's comeback.
The Quinn camp watched Republican Bruce Rauner shoot out of the gate to an early lead in the polls, but now things may be changing. The incumbent Democrat is connecting with voters, he says, by being himself.
Like the Jesse White tumblers he watched at the ribbon cutting of a new North Side community center, Quinn may be vaulting into contention, if not the lead.
"Now the numbers have turned around and the African-American community is rallying to his side," says White, a fellow Democrat and secretary of state.
Quinn even made fun of himself with a recent campaign commercial, showing him using an antique lawnmower on his front lawn, which DNAinfo.com had found to be a dandelion-covered neighborhood eyesore several weeks earlier.
"You know it is who I am, and I think that's the only way to campaign," Quinn said.
Friday's ad comes 24 hours after the latest jobs report showed another slight dip in Illinois' unemployment rate.
Rauner's people claim the numbers are misleading. In Schaumburg, the Republican candidate received the endorsement of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which said only under Rauner will people be able to find jobs.
Rauner rejects the idea that Quinn is doing a better job connecting with voters.
"I've been connecting with voters 18 months now, seven days a week, and I've loved every minute of it," he said.
The election is Nov. 4.