Despite being outspent, latest polls clearly show Giannoulias has taken lead in Illinois Senate Race

Ten-point swing since April matches trend in other public polls

Chicago, IL – After trailing by eight points in early April and being considerably outspent by his opponent since that time, Illinois Treasurer and Democratic nominee for Senate Alexi Giannoulias has swung the race 10 points back into his favor to take the lead, according to three recent independent polls. Giannoulias is running against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk.

“While we expect this race to be tight all the way to the end, the choice in this election between a failed past and promising future is becoming more clear to Illinois voters, to Alexi’s benefit,” Alexi for Illinois campaign manager Michael Rendina said.  “This is a choice between someone like Congressman Kirk, who supported the failed economic policies that got us into this mess, and who after six straight months of job losses at the outset of the recession still said that unemployment isn’t ‘a big issue;’ and someone like Alexi, who has the record and the plan to help get us out of it.”

In the latest poll released today by Rasmussen, Giannoulias leads Kirk by two points, 43-41, a swing of 10 points in that poll since April, when Kirk led by eight, 46-38.  Meanwhile, a PPP poll in July showed Alexi with a one-point advantage over Kirk, matching the margin in June’s Rasmussen survey.  An April PPP survey showed Kirk leading, 37-33.

Polling trends for the Illinois Senate race can be viewed at pollster.com

“The trend is absolutely clear: the more Illinoisans come to know about Congressman Kirk, the more they are inclined to support Alexi Giannoulias,” Rendina said.  “The people of Illinois are tired of typical politicians.  They want a leader who will go to Washington and fix what’s broken, not someone who has lived there and been a part of the problem for two decades.  That is made clear by the fact that Congressman Kirk has been launching negative, false attacks against Alexi and his family for months, while Alexi is the one actually gaining points in the polls.”

According to campaign finance reports, Congressman Kirk has outspent the Giannoulias campaign by $500,000, although the momentum is clearly with Giannoulias.  In recent weeks, Alexi has been talking about the key issues that matter to Illinois‘ middle class families: Wall Street reform, government ethics and accountability, and extending unemployment benefits to Illinois’ most vulnerable.  Congressman Kirk, on the other hand, has been spending his time in Washington and on Wall Street, collecting massive campaign contributions from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists, and voting in lockstep with their agenda.

“Illinois voters see Congressman Kirk as a typical Washington politician who will say and do anything, and they have serious doubts about his honesty,” Rendina said. “Illinois voters saw Congressman Kirk’s false attacks for what they were – desperate and untrue.”