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The Democratic primary race for Illinois Governor is starting to take shape. But, the race is still
fluid, even with a candidate with high name recognition in the field.1 In a three-way matchup
between Kurt Summers, J.B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy, Kennedy leads with 44 percent of the
vote. But 34 percent of the electorate is undecided and 41 percent are weak supporters of the
candidates.
When voters hear more about the potential candidates for Governor, 21 percent of the vote
shifts to Summers, who has a compelling background that includes his roots in Chicago, his
competence as a financial manager, and his advocacy for underserved communities.
1
The memo reflects some key findings from a statewide survey of 500 likely 2018 Democratic primary voters conducted March 2-6,
2017. It carries a margin of error of 4.38 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
www.gqrr.com
Kurt Summers Demonstrates Strong Potential in Illinois Gubernatorial Race 2
Kurt Summers serves as the Chicago City Treasurer and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. With a strong
support system, he worked his way through college and earned his MBA from Harvard University. He left a
successful career on Wall Street to come back home to help save his grandfather's small business. Later, he served
as Chief of Staff to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, where he helped eliminate Cook County's budget deficit of 487
million dollars. As City Treasurer, he has generated 100 million dollars in new revenue that is being re-invested in
underserved communities to grow the economy. Summers believes economic opportunity and job creation are the
solution to violence, and he has stood up against predatory lending to protect small business owners. Summers has
the financial know-how to eliminate Illinois' deficit, and would be our first African American Governor.
Chris Kennedy is a successful businessman and the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy. He was the President of the
Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, and launched a nonprofit that provides fresh food
options at lower cost to underserved communities. Kennedy has been an active member of the Chicago community
for three decades, serving on numerous boards with other business leaders and charitable foundations. He was
chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and will make college affordability a top priority.
Kennedy worked to bring almost 5000 companies to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and he will use this
experience to help bring more companies and good paying jobs to Illinois.
After hearing positive information on all three candidates, Summers moves into a strong second
place position, Pritzker sees minimal growth, and Kennedys vote share is flat.
Summers particularly resonates with important segments of the electorate Chicago voters,
liberals, African Americans, and younger voters. After positive information, Summers is
essentially tied with Kennedy in Chicago (35 to 37 percent) and among African Americans (38 to
36 percent), and he leads Kennedy with voters under 50 (42 to 30 percent).
Summers has a unique background with both financial experience and roots in the community,
appeal with key voting blocs, and overall the potential to shake up this race. With the primary
just a year away, it's anyone's race to win.