* Somebody leaked the results of a recent We Ask America poll to Greg Hinz. The survey covered the west suburban 11th Congressional District race between incumbent Democrat Bill Foster and Republican state Rep. Darlene Senger…

the new survey of 842 voters found Mr. Foster leading Ms. Senger 45.9 percent to 40.65 percent. A lead is a lead, but Ms. Senger, a state representative from Naperville, still isn’t very well-known in much of the district.

That’s not good news for Foster at all.

* Now, before we move on to the other result, keep in mind that Bruce Rauner has been running a bunch of positive TV ads in the Chicago media market for two months. Those ads will inflate his numbers considerably, and I’d like to see the crosstabs to see how he’s doing with Democrats. As we’ve discussed before, once the state’s partisanship tendencies kick in, numbers like these tend to vanish pretty quickly…

Mr. Rauner is up 18 points in what is supposed to be a marginal Democratic district, 51.59 percent to 33.59 percent for the incumbent. The margin is somewhat narrower among women but widens to a whopping 26 points among men.

* Meanwhile, from an NRCC press release…

- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced today that 11 Republican candidates have reached ‘Young Gun’ status, the top tier of the Committee’s three-level recruitment program. These candidates have reached the third and final level by establishing a clear path to victory through their ability to build a formidable campaign structure and achieve important goals and benchmarks.

“Candidates that reach ‘Young Gun’ status have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” said NRCC Chairman Greg Walden. “Our job as a committee is to help elect Republicans to office that will serve as a check and balance on the Obama administration. These 11 candidates will fight to stop the harmful consequences of ObamaCare, grow the economy, and get Washington’s spending under control. As the November Elections approach, I am confident that these candidates will continue to work hard for their communities and bring common-sense principles to Congress.” […]

The NRCC’s Second Round of ‘Young Gun’ Candidates [include]:

IL-11 Darlene Senger
IL-17 Bobby Schilling