Two student government leaders have conflicting views of an NIU survey showing Republican Jim Edgar leading Democrat Neil Hartigan in the race for Illinois governor.

According to the poll, 37 percent of the 800 Illinois citizens surveyed said they would vote for Edgar. Twenty-one percent surveyed said they would vote for Hartigan, while 36 percent are still undecided. The poll had a 4 percent margin of error.

NIU Young Democrats Chairman Tom Elkins said statewide opinion polls are one thing, but the votes generated in individual precincts by workers decide the race on election day.

Elkins also said the poll did not show how many registered voters would vote in November.

NIU College Republicans President Chris Hudders said it was too early to make a judgment on the race for governor. Hudders said he agrees with the poll because Edgar has great name recognition.

Ellen Dran, research associate at the NIU Center for Governmental Studies, said the Sixth Annual Illinois Policy Survey conducted at NIU is a nonpartisan survey involving many issues important to Illinois citizens.

“We were asking questions on policy, but because it’s an election year, we put this (the question about the race for governor) in as an extra interesting item,” Dran said.

Associate political science Professor Mikel Wyckoff said Edgar’s unusually liberal position on education might benefit state university students more than Hartigan’s position.

Wyckoff said Edgar might be leading by even a greater margin on campus because of the “conservative Republican background these people are from.”

Elkins said NIU students would benefit from a Hartigan victory because as governor he will cooperate better with the Illinois legislature concerning increased funding for state universities.

artigan “has shown in the past that he gives Cook County its just funding and gives the rest of the state its share,” Elkins said.

“People should start thinking toward the campaign because this is happening right now,” Hudders said, referring to the March 20 primaries. Hudders mentioned Edgar is running in the Republican primary against Steven Baer.

Wyckoff said the statewide survey could not accurately be compared with feelings at the NIU campus because the state and NIU have a different social mix.