D’Arcy Leads O’Dekirk In Joliet Mayor's Race By Double Digits: Poll

JOLIET, IL — The Terry D'Arcy for Mayor of Joliet campaign issued a news release Monday announcing that a new Public Policy Polling survey showed D’Arcy leading incumbent two-term Mayor Bob O’Dekirk among likely voters in the upcoming municipal election by an 18-point margin, 39 percent to 21 percent.

Another 30 percent of Joliet's voters remain undecided in the mayor's race, while 10 percent of the voters are supporting Tycee Bell, who is also challenging O'Dekirk for mayor.

According to D'Arcy's campaign:

This marked the second poll showing D’Arcy leading O’Dekirk. A previous poll conducted August 12-14, 2022 that surveyed 502 likely primary voters showed his favorability higher than O’Dekirk, with 31 percent of votes compared to O'Dekirk's 25 percent. Last August, nearly 50 percent of Joliet's voters were still undecided, D'Arcy's campaign announced Monday.

“We are certainly excited to see the polling results show us winning, but we have two weeks left and I won’t stop working until we get every last voter to the polls,” D’Arcy said in Monday's news release.

Joliet Patch contacted O'Dekirk for his reaction to D'Arcy's polling data.

"This is not a poll, it is a press release," O'Dekirk wrote Joliet Patch's editor. "I have knocked on thousands of doors and I can assure you, these numbers are not accurate.

"Mr. D'Arcy is getting desperate and is trying to deceive people, just like a truck salesman who can't close the deal."

On Monday night, Patch asked O'Dekirk if he believes that come April 4, the voters of Joliet will choose him over D'Arcy and Bell?

"Yes, I do," O'Dekirk told Patch. "Issuing bogus press releases/polls is a sign of desperation."

According to D'Arcy's campaign, the Public Policy Polling found that while roughly half of Joliet voters are unsure whether they hold favorable opinions on D’Arcy, 48 percent, and O'Dekirk, 46 percent, voters familiar enough to hold an opinion are divided when it comes to O’Dekirk.

Just 28 percent view O'Dekirk favorably, while 26 percent view him unfavorably, D'Arcy's campaign noted. Meanwhile, people familiar with D’Arcy view him favorably by a 30-point margin, 41 percent to 11 percent, his campaign announced.

Another key finding from the Public Policy Polling survey showed D’Arcy leading O’Dekirk among voters across the political spectrum, including Democrats, 40 to 15 percent, Republicans 41 to 34 percent and independents or those who identify with another party, at 37 percent to 20 percent, D'Arcy's campaign noted.

Rosemaria DiBenedetto, communications director for D'Arcy's mayoral campaign, said the Public Policy Polling surveyed 563 likely voters in Joliet from March 9-10.

The margin of error is +/- 4.1 percent; 67 percent of the interviews for the survey were conducted by text message and 33 percent by phone.

During last Thursday's interview, Joliet Patch asked D'Arcy if he felt confident about his chances of winning the April 4 election.

"I do," D'Arcy replied. "I feel like I'm getting a lot of positive responses, knocking on doors."

Patch also asked what D'Arcy was hearing from Joliet residents while on the campaign trail.

"Change the negativity," D'Arcy replied. "We've had five city managers in five years and four police chiefs. They want something to stick. They want a better future."