CHICAGO - In a pre-response to tomorrow's Rasmussen poll results for the U.S. Senate race in Illinois, the Alexi for Illinois campaign would like to point out that independent experts agree and have consistently verified the polling firm's controversial methodology and that the firm heavily favors Republican candidates.

As much as Mark Kirk's campaign and the Republican Party like to stretch reality and put out misleading information, we ask that you cut through the spin and look at Rasmussen for what it is: a polling firm for Republican candidates.

In addition, early last week, the Alexi for Illinois campaign released a State of the Race polling memo that shows a more accurate analysis of the Illinois Senate race by looking at a blend of external and internal polling. That memo, which concludes "We fully expect this to be a closely contested matchup throughout the year, but Giannoulias starts with the upper hand," can be found here.

Experts agree: Rasmussen Polling is "weird," "controversial," and "pro-Republican."

"Rasmussen has a new poll, but it's a bit weird."..."We've known for a while that Quinn had trouble with women, but I cannot possibly see how the Democrat is trailing among women to a Republican by 17 points, while losing by just 3 among men."
-Rich Miller, CapitolFax Blog, 03/09/10
http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2010/03/09/rasmussen-brady-over-quinn-47-37/

"Rasmussen is an automated poll that does not include live interviewers, and, as anyone who follows polling knows, it's highly controversial, in part because of the large number of surveys conducted by the firm and the widespread belief that the firm favors Republicans."
-Stu Rothenberg, Rothenberg Political Report, 03/02/10
http://rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/2010/03/dont-believe-hype-or-everything-that.html

"I think you'll see that Rasmussen polls literally stand out from all the others and they almost always deliver good news for the GOP."..."On the generic ballot question, in any given timeframe, Rasmussen always has the most pro-Republican results. Every. Single. Time. Without fail."
-"Rasmussen and Everyone Else," Jed Lewison, DailyKos.com
http://m.dailykos.com/stories/2010/3/8/843995/-Rasmussen-vs.-Everybody-Else.html