Illinois' 10th Congressional District, which includes parts of Cook County, is an affluent district chock full of the same independent voters that will decide the presidential contest nationally. In 2008, Obama won 61% of the vote there. Al Gore and John Kerry comfortably carried the district in 200 and 2004 respectively.
"For Mr. Obama to be in a statistical tie in an area that he won by around 20 points in 2008 truly reveals the failure of his presidency," said Illinois-based political consultant Paul Miller. "The economy is undoubtedly the key factor, but in suburbs with a large Jewish population, his treatment of Israel is also taking its toll."
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which is the major organization working the Jewish community for Romney, has been targeting Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Illinois has been one of the states with significant Jewish populations which is being essentially ignored as a hopeless cause. Smart or foolish?
One other point: Hard to get a handle on the accuracy of these numbers by congressional district because the districts are all redrawn.
My Jewish friends in Wisconsin who voted for Obama in 2008 are supporting Romney this year.
As AUh2o stated this poll is not exactly shocking nor does it indicate Romney is poised to win the state. Osama ran far ahead of normal rat percentages in Illinois, I always expected him to come back down to Earth this time.
It is a good sign though and good news for RINO freshman Bob Dold who can’t afford big Osama coatails.
6 competitive House races here so holding Osama’s numbers down is helpful even though I doubt Romney could do any better than a 10 point loss at best.
If Romney wins Illinois it would be electoral votes 390-410 or something like that.