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RESEARCH GROUP w w w .h a rtre se a rch .c o m

MEMORANDUM
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Jeff Horwitt and Mark Bunge
DATE: April 30, 2018
RE: Key Findings from Polling in IL-06

This memorandum outlines the key findings from a recent telephone survey among a cross-
section of 401 likely general election voters in Illinois’s 6th Congressional District conducted
on behalf of Casten for Congress. The survey was conducted April 21-23, 2018, including
both cell and landline interviews, and has an overall margin of error of ±4.9 percentage
points.

Bottom Line: IL-06 is exactly the type of moderate suburban district where today’s
Republican Party, which first lurched to the right during the rise of the Tea Party, then
contorted itself into the mold of Donald Trump, has fallen completely out of touch with the
voters of the district. As a result, our polling shows that voters here are poised to reject
Peter Roskam in favor of Democrat Sean Casten in November. Congressman Roskam is out
of step with the district on virtually every major issue of the day, and his poor personal and
professional ratings combined with deep antipathy toward President Trump make Roskam
one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the nation.

1. Peter Roskam is well-known but not well-liked by his constituents, with

personal and professional ratings that are significantly under water. Just one in
four voters (25%) hold positive feelings toward Peter Roskam, while 37% express
negative feelings toward him. And voters currently DISAPPROVE of the job Peter
Roskam is doing in congress by a nine-point margin: 38% approve, 47% disapprove.

§ On both of these measures there is far more intensity on the negative side than the
positive. Only 9% of voters say they have very positive feelings toward Peter
Roskam, while 25% say they have very negative feelings. His job approval ratings
are similar, with just 9% saying they strongly approve compared to 26% who
strongly disapprove.

§ Roskam’s standing is even worse among the key bloc of independent voters who will
decide the outcome of this election. Among self-identified independents, Roskam’s
feelings thermometer rating is just 16% positive to 43% negative, and his job
approval rating is deep under water at 28% approve, 47% disapprove.

§ When asked in an open-ended question about their impressions of Peter Roskam and
the job he is doing in congress, fully 66% of voters volunteered a negative
impression or criticism of Roskam, while just 40% volunteered something positive.

2. The political environment creates additional headwinds for Peter Roskam. Even
if you set aside the fact that the president’s party has lost an average of 28
congressional seats in his first mid-term since World War II, the political environment is
incredibly challenging for Peter Roskam.

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G ARIN H ART Y ANG RESEARCH GROUP

§ President Trump lost IL-06 by 7 points in 2016. And voters here certainly haven’t
warmed to the president since the election. Trump’s feelings thermometer is
currently negative by a 20-point margin (37% positive, 57% negative), and his job
approval stands at 41% approve to 56% disapprove (46% strongly).

§ The national Republican brand is certainly no help to Roskam either, as voters here
are more negative (49%) than positive (25%) to Republicans in Congress by nearly
2 to 1.

§ Perhaps the brightest flashing red light for Peter Roskam is that voters in the district
want their member of Congress to be an independent check and balance on Donald
Trump rather than to support Trump and help him pass his programs by a decisive
69% to 29% margin, including 76% to 20% among independents. The fact that
Peter Roskam has been a virtual rubber stamp for Donald Trump, voting with Trump
94% of the time, puts Roskam FAR out of step with the voters of his district on this
critical question, and Roskam’s voting record is a cold hard fact that will be
impossible to run away from.
3. All of this leaves Peter Roskam in an extremely perilous position in his effort to
win reelection in November.

§ Indeed, just one in five voters (19%) say they will definitely vote to reelect Peter
Roskam for Congress, while 30% say they will definitely vote for someone else, and
42% will consider voting for someone else. Again, Roskam’s numbers are even worse
among independents, among whom just 9% say they will definitely vote to reelect
Roskam.

§ In our initial trial heat, Sean Casten is in a statistical tie with Peter Roskam, 44% for
Casten to 45% for Roskam, with 11% of voters undecided. Among the all-important
bloc of independent voters, Casten leads Roskam by 43% to 34%.

§ Perhaps even more striking is Roskam’s strength of support…or lack thereof.

Incredibly, only 39% of Roskam voters say they strongly support him, which is
actually lower than Casten’s strength of support. For a five-term incumbent to have
weaker support than a first-time candidate early in the cycle is a sure sign of
Roskam’s deep vulnerability.

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