Carbondale, IL—Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney released a statement today on this week’s Rasmussen’s Poll that only referred to Whitney as an “other” candidate.

“Such polling is plainly not legitimate and is apparently aimed at persuading voters to follow a favored candidate, not inform voters about their collective opinions. There is a sizeable difference between asking a respondent whether he or she will vote for ‘Rich Whitney, Green Party,’ or asking the respondent if he or she will vote for ‘other’. Real voters respond to names and party affiliations. That’s one reason why a Rasmussen poll can find that there is only 6 percent support for ‘other,’ while a Public Policy Polling poll  shows 11 percent for Rich Whitney. Obviously, only the more complete poll is accurately gauging voter support.

“This polling can only further Rasmussen’s reputation for inaccuracy and bias toward more right-leaning candidates. It apparently has an agenda and is not being objective. No reputable media source should use their polling or report their so-called ‘findings’ until they clean up their act.

“At best, Rasmussen is completely out of touch with what is really happening in the Illinois race for governor. At worst, they are intentionally trying to bias voters in favor of the Republican candidate.”