Bailey Poll Shows Four Point Lead Over Bost
Former Sen. Darren Bailey, who is challenging Congressman Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) in the 12th Congressional District.
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When Darren Bailey’s congressional campaign released polling numbers Tuesday showing the former state senator and 2022 GOP nominee for Governor leading incumbent Congressman Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) by four points, it showed some positives, but numbers trending in the wrong direction for the challenger.
“My opponent should be very worried about the results of this poll because he voted for amnesty for 1.8 million illegal immigrants and is out of step with the voters in our district,” Bailey said in a statement. “Voters are tired of electing people who say one thing to get elected and then do another when they get to Washington D.C. They want a fighter who will drain the swamp and not become part of it.”
The poll, citing 300 likely voters in the southern Illinois-based 12th Congressional District, shows Bailey leading 48%-44%. But, by the campaign’s own admission, Bailey led 50%-39% in August. Their own numbers show his lead has shrunk from 11 to four points in five months, is now inside the margin of error, and Bost has now gone up on TV in the district while Bailey hasn’t.
“You can’t take these numbers seriously. This is the same candidate who touted a poll last cycle showing him winning the governor’s race, right before he got crushed by double digits,” Bost’s campaign manager, Myles Nelson, said in a statement. “He’s trailing badly in resources and conservative endorsements and is trying to manufacture the illusion of momentum in any way possible.”
The Bost campaign declined to release any of its polling numbers.
Bailey has a 70%/11% favorable/unfavorable rating among respondents. Bost has a 64%/8% favorable/unfavorable rating.
They both trail former President Donald Trump, who has an 89%/7% favorable/unfavorable rating in the district, which shows why both candidates have worked so hard to curry favor with the likely GOP nominee.
47% of Republican respondents said immigration is the most important problem facing the country. Inflation and the economy were tied for a distant second at 14%.