Incumbent Anita Alvarez holds a sizable lead over her two Democratic opponents in the race for Cook County State's Attorney, according to a new Chicago Tribune poll.
Despite months of protests and outcry for her resignation following the police shooting of Chicago teen Laquan McDonald, Alvarez received 34 percent of the recent poll’s votes.
"As the actual records of my opponents begin to be scrutinized and evaluated by the media in coming weeks, I believe that voters will continue to see that my record of reform, independence and my passion for standing up for victims of crime offers voters a clear choice over the other candidates in the field,” Alvarez said in a statement to Ward Room.
Former Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Foxx received 27 percent of the poll's votes although 4 in 10 voters said they had never heard of Foxx.
“We are energized by the results of this poll,” Joanna Klonsky, a Foxx campaign spokesperson, told Ward Room. “It shows Kim, a first time candidate, is in striking distance of a two-term incumbent with universal name recognition.”
Former state and federal prosecutor Donna More received 12 percent of the votes. Half of the poll's voters said they had never heard of More.
Nonetheless, the More campaign was optimistic about the poll results.
Local
“Recent polls show what we already knew,” Donna More said in a statement. “Voters see failure of leadership by Anita Alvarez and they are calling for change.”
According to the poll, 26 percent of voters had a favorable impression of Alvarez, while 42 percent of voters had an unfavorable impression, and 27 percent of voters had no opinion.
Alvarez, who is seeking a third term as Cook County state's attorney, came under scrutiny after a dash-cam video showing Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times was made public in November of last year as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request.
Although the incident occurred in October 2014, Alvarez did not file murder charges for 13 months.
Alvarez has since stood by her record as state’s attorney.
“I’ve done a tremendous job as the Cook County state’s attorney being an independent professional state’s attorney,” Alvarez said during a debate last week.
The poll is comprised of 968 registered Cook County Democratic voters were polled from Jan. 20-28 using landline and cell phone interviews. 26 percent of voters are either undecided or backing another candidate in the race.
The election for the Democratic nomination for Cook County State's Attorney will be held on March 15.
