(WSIL) -- Illinois' gubernatorial primary is heating up and according to a new poll, it's shaping up to be a two-man race on the Republican ticket.Â
y of likely GOP primary voters shows Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin leading the field with 24.1% support, followed by Senator Darren Bailey with 19.8%.
Suburban businessman Gary Rabine is in third place with 7.8%, closely followed by venture capitalist Jessie Sullivan with 7.3%. Attorney Max Solomon and former state Senator Paul Schimpf are both trailing far behind with 2.3 % and 1.9% respectively.
About 36.9% of respondents say they are undecided about the top of the ticket.
Asked the most important issue facing Illinois, voters overwhelmingly choose the economy � jobs, inflation and taxes. Crime comes in a distant second (15.2%), while immigration (6.5%), COVID (4.3%), education (3.6), health care (4.7%) and the war in Ukraine (2.0%) fall even further on the list.
When asked about who would best handle the state's economy, Bailey slightly edged Irvin, but both hovered around 21%.
Thirty percent of likely voters in the GOP primary say Richard Irvin is best suited to tackle the issue of crime, followed by Bailey at 20%.  Again, many of those polled say they have not made up their mind yet � 33% of those polled were still undecided.
When looking at regions of the state, Irvin holds a big lead over Bailey in urban/city area, 31% to 10%. But in rural areas, Bailey has the edge over Ircin 30% to 16%.
Voters who identify themselves as living in suburban areas are split more evenly � Irvin has a slight edge at 25%, with Bailey trailing closely behind at 20%.
Early voting in Illinois is set to begin May 19, next week.Â
