Donald Trump leads a bunched field of challengers by double digits in Illinois, according to a Chicago Tribune poll released Tuesday.
Trump registered 32% support among Illinois Republicans in the Tribune poll, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in second place with 22%, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 21% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 18%.
Trump’s advantage over his GOP presidential primary rivals — just a week ahead of the March 15 primary — has him positioned to pad his lead with Illinois’ 69 delegates up for grabs.
That puts the pressure on Rubio and Kasich to prevail over Trump in winner-take-all contests in their delegate-rich home states of Florida and Ohio, respectively, in order to stay in the race. Both states also go to the polls on March 15.
On the Democratic side, the Tribune poll finds former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a wide lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among Illinois Democrats, 67% to 25%.
Illinois Republicans are less satisfied than their Democratic counterparts with their slate of candidates, according to the poll. About 64% of Republicans said they are satisfied with their options, while 83% of Democrats said the same.
The poll surveyed 600 registered voters likely to vote between March 2-6 and has an error margin of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
