Speaking of competitive Democratic primaries of 2014, looks like we’ll be seeing one in Illinois, where no one can defend the performance of incumbent Pat Quinn:
Sen. Dick Durbin told me Tuesday that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is “seriously thinking” about running for governor.
I talked to Madigan about a gubernatorial bid on Saturday night — she was here for President Barack Obama’s Inauguration festivities — and my takeaway from the conversation is she wants to run whether or not Bill Daley also gets in a Democratic primary to challenge Gov. Pat Quinn.
The main consequence of Madigan, 46, inching toward a bid is this: We now know the politically vulnerable Quinn is heading toward a colossal primary fight because he is going to be facing strong opponents, either Madigan, Daley or both in the March 18, 2014, balloting.
How unpopular is Quinn?
With a 64 percent disapproval rating, Quinn is the most unpopular governor PPP has polled in the country this year. Only 25 percent of those polled were satisfied with Quinn’s performance. Quinn’s disapproval ratings among Democrats are more telling: 43 percent of Democrats who took the survey disapproved of him.