Illinois: Pro-Kinzinger Poll Shows Him Tied With Don Manzullo

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (above) faces fellow GOP Rep. Don Manzullo in a primary next month. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (above) faces fellow GOP Rep. Don Manzullo in a primary next month. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Posted February 8, 2012 at 1:24pm

Illinois Republicans Don Manzullo and Adam Kinzinger are locked in a competitive primary, according to a new survey from a super PAC supporting Kinzinger.

The Congressmen are tied at 43 percent in the poll paid for by the Campaign for Primary Accountability. 14 percent of survey respondents said they were undecided about the March 20 primary.

Democrats controlled the redraw of the Illinois Congressional map last year, and the state lost a seat in reapportionment. Manzullo lives in the overhauled 16th district, and Kinzinger opted to run against him there after he was moved into a nearby district that is heavily Democratic. Some of Kinzinger’s current territory lies in the redrawn 16th district.

The Kinzinger-Manzullo matchup will be the first primary between two GOP Members this cycle. And according to this initial polling, it’s on track to be a competitive race.

The poll also showed both Republicans were relatively well-liked in the heavily Republican district. Sixty percent of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of Manzullo, while Kinzinger scored a 62 percent favorability rating among the poll participants.

The Campaign for Primary Accountability supports several candidates, including Kinzinger. Its stated goal is to “bring true competition to our electoral process, to give voters real information about their choices, and to restore fair, not fixed, elections,” according to the super PAC’s website.

The Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research poll took the opinion of 301 likely GOP voters in the redrawn district Feb. 6-7. The survey had a margin of error of 5.7 points.