Some Perspective On Independent Voters: Cross up by 27%, White up 20%, Madigan Tied

We wanted to posit this additional data point to further demonstrate the strength of Tom Cross' campaign for Illinois Treasurer and his particular appeal to independent voters.

Earlier this morning, we covered how Tom Cross has extended his overall lead against his opponent Mike Frerichs.  And how he's opened a 27% lead on Frerichs in the eyes of independent voters.  The full post about the polling data is here.

Here's the chart showing Cross' lead with independent voters in the Treasurer's race:

But...that wasn't the only poll that the Sun-Times ran.  They also polled the rest of the statewide races.  And...in two of them, the spread of independent voters is smaller than that 27% that Cross is showing in the Treasurer's race.

Look at the Secretary of State race where everyone - and we mean EVERYONE - believes incumbent (Democrat) Secretary of State Jesse White will cruise to victory in November.  What's that race show in terms of appeal to independent voters?

White is winning them, but by a far less margin than Cross is winning them.  White is only besting his opponent - the little known Mike Webster - by 20% of independents:

And what about the Attorney General race?  Everyone is thinking that Lisa Madigan is going to cruise to victory against Paul Schimpf.  But...when you look at independent voters?  How is she faring?

It is a dead heat!

So...let's recap:

• Tom Cross is leading opponent Mike Frerichs for State Treasurer in the eyes of independent voters by 27%.
• Favorite Jesse White is leading opponent Mike Webster for Secretary of State in the eyes of independent voters by 20%.
• Incumbent and vote-getting powerhouse Lisa Madigan is flat out tied with her opponent Paul Schimpf for Attorney General - each with 35% of the independent vote.   

The work and message that Tom Cross has been bringing to voters of reform the Treasurer's office, balance the budget, and protect the taxpayers is breaking through with voters across the spectrum, but especially with independent voters.  

Unfortunate Ad Placement On This Jesse White Story In The Southern Illinoisan

If you checked out this story about Secretary of State Jesse White in the Southern Illinoisan on your mobile device, you likely came across this VERY unfortunate ad placement.  It is an animated mobile ad for a medical clinic that specializes in stroke recovery.

Signs Of Life From The Mike Webster for Secretary of State Campaign

After four months of no activity on the official Mike Webster for Illinois Facebook page, there was some action:  they updated their cover photo with some new red/white/blue imagery.  If you check out his Twitter handle (where...we'll be honest...he's been a bit more active) the imagery matches up.  Thus....we here at the Truth Team are thinking this is his go-to-market iconography.  Looks like he's ditching his blue and gold scheme that is still on his site.

Good for him and we have to think this bodes well for his campaign:  they're getting organized, looking more professional, and getting active.  (at least we're assuming that this new logo will stick.  If you look closely at his Twitter handle, there is a recent photo of Webster with some supporters hold walk pieces.  They have the 'old' logo on them.  Just left-overs from the primary?  Hopefully.)

Now, we know that this campaign against incumbent Secretary of State Jesse White isn't going to be on Facebook and Twitter and the web alone.  But...we need to make sure as a Party we field a strong slate of folks all the way and down the ballot to encourage every voter to give our Republican candidates a strong look.

We'll be doing our best to spotlight news and issues that Mike Webster's team bring to light.  Let's have an honest debate about the office and discuss the issues that matter to voters.

Go get 'em Mike.

Voters Need Better Reason Than: "Hey! He's Been There Long Enough"

Over on Twitter, the Republican Nominee for Illinois Secretary of State Mike Webster posted a tweet with his reasoning why he should be elected over current incumbent Jesse White:

Listen...we're all for Mike Webster for SoS.  We're more than happy to work for him and support him as a good Republican.  Heck...we'll even promote him here on the Truth Team (hint...Mike!  Have your press folks send us your releases!).

But...we have a recommendation for Mike Webster's Secretary of State campaign:  Let's come up with a more compelling reason to vote Jesse White out of office besides "he's been in office for 16 years, it's time for change." We're thinking that....Voters are going to need that to toss Jesse White out.

There will be plenty of folks (even...gasp! Republicans) who will tell you that in terms of the actual operations of the office of Secretary of State in Illinois, Jesse White actually has done a great job.  Politics aside, people will tell you that the lines are short, the process to renew your license easier, and the appearance of bureaucracy isn't bulging.

But...there *has* to be a reason to vote against Jesse White, right?  Let's start talking about that message.  Not...'he's been there too long' all by itself.

We understand that we don't want to go after him right now during the primary season, but there has to be something, right?  Let's start talking about it.

We're going to guess that the feeling at Mike Webster SoS HQ in regards to this post is something like this: