There's a reason for Cullerton early lead

As former chairman of the Bloomingdale Township Democrats for six years, I pay a little more attention to political news that the average person. I closely follow local and national and local media and am a dedicated subscriber to the Daily Herald.

A political blog on Huffington Post published the results of the first independent poll in the race to replace Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth. It shows state Sen. Tom Cullerton has a lead, albeit a slight one, over Raja Krishnamoorthi in the Democratic primary. Those of us in the 8th District should understand why these results are such a surprise.

As a first term state senator, Cullerton should not be nearly as well known as Krishnamoorthi who has spent millions of dollars on television over the last six years. Many of us remember Krishnamoorthi from his television ads that ran during prime time in 2010 when he ran for Illinois comptroller and in 2012 when he ran against Congresswoman Duckworth.

Krishnamoorthi spent big money "introducing" himself to the voters of the 8th District. Apparently, his introduction failed to make an impression.

This is in stark contrast with Cullerton, who has represented less than a quarter of the 8th congressional district for only three years. Tom doesn't need to spend millions of dollars on mailers or television ads. He spends his time listening to his constituents and fighting for their issues in Springfield.

Tom knows that it's people, not money that decide elections. As an open supporter of Tom's, I may be a little biased, but as a resident of the 23rd District of the state senate, it was a pleasant surprise to see one of the state's best advocates for the middle class with an early lead in his run for Congress.

Pete Null

Glendale Heights