Poll shows Democrat Enyart with 8-point lead in 12th U.S. House Race
September 19, 2012
Bill Enyart, the Democratic nominee for the 12th U.S. House District seat, has an 8-point lead over Jason Plummer, the GOP nominee, according to a new poll released Wednesday for the Democratic House Majority PAC and the Democratic-leaning Service Employees International Union.
The poll of 12th District likely voters shows Enyart, the retired commander of the Illinois National Guard, leading Plummer, an O’Fallon businessman, by 49 to 41 percent. The same poll shows President Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney by 50 to 41, a slight dip from the 11-point margin of victory he had in the district four years ago.
Plummer dismissed the poll results during a conference call Wednesday morning.
“What we have here is, Nancy Pelosi has to save a little face and Bill Enyart and his liberal allies are doing what they can to carry a message that the voters of Southern Illinois just aren’t buying,” Plummer said. “The only number I’m concerned about is the 10-and-half percent unemployment rate that this district is facing.”
The poll of 400 likely voter was conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group, was surveyed the voters between Sept. 11-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus nearly 5 percent.
Plummer had an 11-point lead over Enyart with 23 percent of voters undecided, according to a July poll conducted Monday by We Ask America. The automated poll of 1,510 likely 12th District voters found that Plummer, was leading Enyart, 45 percent to 34 percent. The poll has a plus-minus margin of error of 2.5 percent.
Enyart and Plummer are vying with Green Party nominee Paula Bradshaw to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, in the Nov. 6 election.
The 12th District comprises a dozen counties that stretch from Alton in Madison County to Cairo in the southern tip of the state.