Quinn, Rauner final debate: Replay on TV at 10:35 tonight
This story has been updated to say the debate is being live-streamed only on the Internet at 8 p.m. at abc7chicago.com, while a rebroadcast actually on Channel 7 will appear after the 10 p.m. news.
As early voters start heading to the polls today, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner will make their closing arguments to the public in the final televised gubernatorial debate before Election Day.
When the two face off tonight at 8 with a live video stream at abc7chicago.com, with a rebroadcast on ABC 7 Chicago's television station after the 10 p.m. news, it will be the last chance for each to make his case to the voters in what has become an expensive and bitter campaign.
"The debates have provided a pretty clear choice for people. The campaigns have in general," said Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine. "You can either keep doing what you're doing now, or take a chance and try someone new."
For Rauner, that means treating the debate like it's a job interview with the voters, Murphy said.
"He has to make people understand why he wants the job and how, if they give him a chance, he can do better than Pat Quinn has," he said. "This is your public closing argument, so to speak. People are ready to fire Pat Quinn and, hopefully, Bruce Rauner can make the case to them for why they should hire him instead."
Democrats, though, have argued Rauner hasn't said enough about what he'd specifically do as governor. Quinn supporters said consistency is key.
"He needs to continue to articulate a vision and explain his vision for the state," said state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook.
In a debate last week in Chicago, each candidate focused on his opponent's negatives. But focusing on their own positive ideas is the best way to excite voters, supporters say.
The debates are also about not messing up, Murphy said.
"You want to avoid doing something that puts you in the other guy's commercial," he said, referencing the flood of negative political ads dominating the airwaves in recent weeks.
More than 33,300 voters in Cook County had applied for a mail ballot with two weeks left before the Oct. 30 deadline, according to Clerk David Orr, already surpassing the 25,000 people who voted by mail in Cook County in 2010. In the 2010 election, early voting made up 15 percent of all ballots cast in suburban Cook County, Orr said.
Making an impression at tonight's debate and getting voters to the polls becomes even more important as the race between Quinn and Rauner tightens in the weeks leading up the election.
"It's a tied race," said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, referring to recent polls. "No one can predict from these numbers who will win. It's likely to be close on Election Night and every vote will be important."