* The Dan Hynes campaign has released a new polling memo which shows they’ve done some major damage to Quinn’s fortunes and made this a real horse race - with a major assist from Republican Andy McKenna’s campaign, which is whacking the guv like crazy on the tax issue. In essence, Quinn has been hit with a two-track assault for weeks without much of a response.

The seven-point spread in Hynes’ poll is about the same as a poll I told subscribers about yesterday. That other poll, taken by the Alexi Giannoulias campaign, had it at 49-43, sources outside the campaign now confirm.

Anyway, on to the Hynes polling memo. All emphasis in original…

With two weeks to go in the primary campaign for Governor of Illinois, Dan Hynes is surging – according to a recent poll of 500 likely Democratic primary voters conducted January 17 – 18, 2009 by Global Strategy Group. Key findings include:

* Dan Hynes is now within just seven points and Quinn is polling well below 50%. Today, Pat Quinn leads with just 44% of the vote to Dan Hynes at 37% and 19% undecided. That is a remarkable change versus our November poll (where Quinn led by 17 points) and the Chicago Tribune’s December poll (where Quinn led by 26 points). It is clear that the most recent advertising blitz is causing voters to tune into this campaign and that voters are moving towards Hynes as they see competing advertisements from both sides.

* Pat Quinn’s ratings are in a total free-fall. Quinn’s negative job approval rating is now at 60% – up ten points since November. Remarkably, only 36% of primary voters approve of the job Quinn is doing.

* Pat Quinn is unelectable in a general election. Pat Quinn has a 60% negative job rating (and just a 36% positive job rating) among primary voters – a group that should be his strongest in a general election. Such a low rating with primary voters means that Quinn’s ratings must be even worse with a general election electorate that includes Republicans and Independents. In this political environment, Quinn simply cannot win in November.

* Voters view Dan Hynes as by far the better choice on the key economic issues facing Illinois. Voters think Hynes will do a better job “handling the state’s budget and finances” (Hynes 43%/Quinn 29%), and “cutting waste from state government” (Hynes 39%/Quinn 27%). In addition, by a stunning 54% to 9% voters believe it is Pat Quinn who will raise their taxes.

The bottom line is this: Now that voters are paying attention to this campaign – and seeing competing advertisements from both campaigns – Dan Hynes is surging and Pat Quinn is in a total free-fall. Hynes is within single digits and Quinn is well below 50% in an environment where undecideds will likely break against the better known incumbent Governor. With two weeks to go, Hynes is in a great position to win this campaign.

Those are awful numbers for Quinn. Just awful. A disapproval of 60? Oof. And that 54-9 on how Quinn will be the one to raise their taxes? Hynes ought to send McKenna a big box of roses for that one.

* Meanwhile, Hynes has a new, hard-hitting 15-second ad on the botched early release program. It was ripped from live TV, so there is a little bleed-over from other stuff at the beginning and end. Sorry about that. Anyway, rate it…