The race to replace retiring 4th District Congressman Luis Gutierrez attracted a lot of interest, but one candidate has already grabbed a huge lead over the field.
According to Public Policy Polling, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia has already opened a substantial lead in the district. 53 percent of voters support Garcia in the race, with Carlos Ramirez-Rosa currently running in second place with seven percent of the vote.
Garcia, who lost to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the 2015 election, secured Gutierrez’s endorsement when the congressman announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the 2018 race. Gutierrez has held the seat since 1993, and has hinted that he could potentially mull a presidential bid in the 2020 race.
Garcia has also been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, who also lent his support to the commissioner in his 2015 bid to unseat Emanuel as mayor of Chicago.
PPP surveyed 412 likely Democratic primary voters in both English and Spanish from Dec. 13-14. The margin of error in the poll is +/- 4.8 percent.
