Jesse Jackson Jr. can start calling himself LL Cool JJJ.
There’s a new We Ask America poll out in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. It shows Rep. Jesse Jackson with a big leader over former Rep. Debbie Halvorson, 54 percent to 32 percent. But what’s really remarkable is Jackson’s lead among women: 57 percent to 27 percent. He only leads 51-37 among men.
This is the guy who flew a D.C. waitress to Chicago for extramarital activity. And he’s running against a woman who has been trying to play the wife-scorned-by-proxy.
It’s actually not that surprising. During Bill Clinton’s impeachment, women were more supportive of the philandering president than men. Because they are more Democratic, women were more likely than men to have voted for Clinton. And plenty of men resented the fact that Clinton was able to cheat on his wife and stay in the White House, while they would have been kicked out of their own more modest houses for the same indiscretion.
Obviously, the ladies love JJJ. Here’s We Ask America’s analysis of the race:
Democrat Jesse Jackson, Jr. has had a bumpy ride the last few years. Beyond reported personal indiscretions that produced tabloid-ready headlines, Jackson has been under an ethics microscope for his role in an alleged scheme to raise funds for former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich in exchange for an appointment to Barack Obama’s Senate seat…Enter Debbie Halvorson, former State Senator and one-term Member of Congress who lost in 2010 to Republican Adam Kinzinger. The re-map of Illinois’ congressional districts gave Halvorson a fighting chance as the new 2nd District dipped into the south Chicagoland suburbs and Jackson continued to be a magnet for bad headlines. Halvorson’s party-line voting record that got her into some hot water in her old blue-collar conservative district is a better fit in Illinois 2′s ethnically diverse area. Plus, some super-PAC funds have been directed to her side.
So with all of Jackson’s problems and Halvorson’s advantages, this certainly ought to be a barn burner of a race, right? Not so much.
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