A new poll conducted for the Illinois Manufacturers' Association has challenger Charlie Meier leading in the three-way Republican primary race for the 108th Illinois House District, but statistically that may mean little and nearly two-thirds of the voters were undecided.
The poll, conducted by We Ask America between Jan. 17-24, had the Okawville farmer at 15 percent, followed by appointed incumbent Paul Evans, an O'Fallon attorney, at 11 percent, and Don Weber, a Troy attorney, at 9 percent.
A whopping 64 percent of those polled were undecided.
Statistically, though, the three candidates were neck-and-neck in the poll. Polls were conducted in multiple House and Senate races in the primary and general elections. The House polls had an average of 600 responses, while the Senate polls had an average of 800 responses. The margins of error for each individual race range from plus-or-minus 3.2 percent to 3.8 percent.
The district is a newly-redrawn district that takes in all or parts of Madison, St. Clair, Washington and Clinton counties. There are no announced Democratic candidates. The winner essentially replaces former state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville.
In polling for other legislative races in the metro-east:
* Senate District 56: Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, 45 percent, against challenger Mike Babcock, R-Bethalto, 33 percent. Undecideds were 22 percent.
* House District 116: Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton, 48 percent, against Julie Bigham Eggers, R-Columbia, 30 percent. Undecideds were 22 percent.
* House District 115: Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, 50 percent, against Kathy Smith, R-Alton, 31 percent. Undecideds were 19 percent.
Meier, a Washington County Board member, said he was happy with the results, which he attributed partly to his long involvement with Jaycees in the region, the number of agriculture-related jobs in the area, and legwork. He said on one recent morning, he went to three different pancake breakfasts.
But he said he wasn't campaigning Friday morning. "We lost a steer this morning. I had one with pneumonia," he said.
He added, "All along, I've believed this was going to be a close battle. I believe that once people have a chance to talk with me, sit down with me, they can tell I'm not a career politician, that I talk from the heart, and I do what I believe in. I'm not going to lie about things."
Evans said with the district being so new and so reconfigured, a lot of voters are still learning about the candidates. He noted that the number of undecided poll respondents was much higher in his district than most others.
"I'm working hard, meeting new people every day," Evans said. "We're on track, I've got momentum."
Evans said he's picked up endorsements in the past few days from St. Clair County Board member John West, Clinton County Board Chairman Ray Kloeckner and former Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville.
Weber said: "I think the poll shows the race is wide open. Prior to the poll we had not sent out any mail, put up any signs or had any events. I'm optimistic that when our message is put out to the public, the majority of Republican voters will see that the only consistent conservative in the race is Don Weber."
Weber said the results have to be discouraging for Evans. "For an incumbent who has sent out two mailings at taxpayers' expense, promised all sorts of money for all sorts of pork-barrel projects and tried to get in the papers every day, 11 percent must be disappointing," Weber said.
