According to a new ranking, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner is facing a serious uphill battle if he wants to hold onto his position.
That ranking, conducted by Governing Magazine, says that the Illinois gubernatorial race is “leaning Democratic,” as Rauner seeks a second term in office.
That same publication correctly predicted that Rauner would beat incumbent Governor Pat Quinn when he was elected in 2014, calling the election as a “leaning Republican” race when they conducted rankings that year.
According to the magazine, Rauner’s controversial decision to sign a bill providing abortion access to low-income women “precipitated a war between the governor and social conservatives,” and also cited the state’s bad financial situation as a factor that could work against Rauner next November.
Rauner’s seat is one of 17 that the magazine considers to be vulnerable heading into the next election cycle, with 12 of those seats currently belonging to Republicans.
According to polls conducted over the summer, 40 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job that Rauner has done, compared to 49 percent that disapprove of his job performance.
