A.G. Gancarski
Whether the state of Illinois is Donald Trump country or not is debatable, but in one congressional district in the southern part of the state, the former President leads the Republican presidential race comfortably.
A survey of Illinois’ 12th Congressional District conducted between July 5 and July 8 by Cor Strategies shows the former President with 53% support, well ahead of Ron DeSantis (16%) and former Vice President Mike Pence, who had 8%. The district extends from East St. Louis/Metro East to the Little Egypt and Wabash Valley parts of the state.
Much further back in what the poll calls the “challenging” tier are U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina (4%), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and author Vivek Ramaswamy (each at 2%), and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (1%).
An additional 9% of the 661 Republican respondents were unsure, while 2% wanted a different option.
Illinois polling is scant, with the last poll we have of the state being from last year. Back then, a Chicago Sun Times/WBEZ survey showed Trump was the preference of 51% of those polled, with DeSantis taking 23% support. Though a lot has happened since last summer, the dynamic is remarkably static.
DeSantis has campaigned in Illinois, meanwhile, and has made recently elected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson part of his remarks in recent months.
During remarks this spring at the Peoria-Tazewell County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner, DeSantis made jokes about the Windy City’s voting patterns, including contextualizing his 2022 romp over Charlie Crist.
“We won in rural Florida. I mean, we were getting 90-plus percent in some of these rural counties. You know, I used to see numbers like that out of Chicago. I just assumed it was dead people voting or something. I didn’t think anyone could get it. We actually got it. It was fair and square.”
DeSantis also swatted at Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, talking about COVID-19.
“Florida stood as a refuge of sanity as a citadel of freedom for people, not just in our state, but in all of the United States and even for people around the world, including your Governor’s family who sent people down there because we were living in freedom,” DeSantis said.
During an appearance this spring in New Hampshire, DeSantis had more jabs to throw at the state.
“I just look at real estate values in Naples,” DeSantis quipped. “When those are going up, I know Chicago has done something stupid again and people are fleeing. So that’s what’s happened. They had a horrible run under their Mayor (Lori Lightfoot) and how do they respond? They elect somebody even more left than the current Mayor.”
The Governor has taken his Chicago chiding literally around the world, even warning Japanese businessmen about the city’s problems during his global trip this year.
Despite this focus on the Land of Lincoln’s current left-wing bent, at least this one congressional district appears to be the land of Trump.
