Peoria Pundit

(Press release)

NEW POLL SHOWS AARON SCHOCK WITH HUGE LEAD IN RACE FOR CONGRESS

Schock towers over Callahan by 29 percentage points

(PEORIA) With just over two months to go in the race, a new poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Virginia on August 18-20th shows Aaron Schock leading Colleen Callahan by a more than two-to-one margin with Green Party nominee Sheldon Schafer getting 2% of the vote.

The 400 sample size poll conducted throughout the 18th Congressional District shows Schock with a commanding lead throughout the district. The head to head match up showed Schock with 56% of the vote to Callahan’s 27% and Schafer’s 2%, with 13% undecided.

The question was simply worded, “If the election to U.S. Congress were being held today, for whom would you vote…Colleen Callahan, Democrat; Sheldon Schafer, Green Party or Aaron Schock, Republican? The three names were rotated in order as the question was asked of voters.

The Schock campaign released two polls it had commissioned by Public Opinion Strategies in the primary race and both showed Schock with substantial leads. His final vote totals were even higher however, earning 72% of the vote.

“Public Opinion Strategies is one of the most respected and accurate polling firms in the nation,” said Schock campaign manager Steven Shearer. “Some people questioned the validity of the polls we released in the primary campaign and even scoffed that Aaron’s numbers couldn’t possibly be that high, but Aaron’s margin of the vote confirmed those poll findings.”

“Without question the only poll that counts is on Election Day,” Shearer continued. “That is why Aaron Schock is working exceptionally hard to earn new support each and every day, just as he has done in each campaign.”

A memo of the results of the poll has been prepared by Public Opinion Strategies and follows this page, and is being publicly released to the media.

The memo:

M E M O R A N D U M
TO: STATE REPRESENTATIVE AARON SCHOCK
THE SCHOCK CAMPAIGN TEAM
FROM: GLEN BOLGER
RE: KEY FINDINGS – ILLINOIS CD-18 SURVEY
DATE: AUGUST 28, 2008
Survey Overview

With just over sixty days to go, Aaron Schock is in solid shape to be the next Member of
Congress from Illinois’ 18th Congressional District. Schock holds a solid lead on the ballot, and
voters like him a great deal. It is clear that Schock has not taken this election for granted, and his
efforts will pay dividends come November.

Key Findings

Aaron Schock leads Colleen Callahan 56%-27% on the congressional ballot test, with 2% of
voters choosing Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer and 13% undecided. By intensity, 39%
are committed to Schock, while 17% definitely vote for Callahan.

The challenge Callahan faces is compounded by the fact that she trails Schock significantly in
name recognition and favorables. Eighty-four percent (84%) of likely voters have heard of
Schock, with 58% having a favorable impression of him and 12% having an unfavorable
impression. By contrast, Callahan’s image is 66% heard of/29% favorable/9% unfavorable.

Matching Aaron’s name recognition and favorables in the final nine weeks of the campaign is a
tall order for the Callahan campaign.

Even during the most anti-Republican national political environment in decades, district voters
prefer to vote for Aaron Schock in November.

Methodology

Public Opinion Strategies conducted a telephone survey of likely voters in the 18th
Congressional District of Illinois for the Aaron Schock for Congress Campaign and the National
Republican Congressional Committee. The survey was completed August 18-20, 2008 among
four hundred (400) likely voters in the district and has a margin of error of +4.9% in 95 out of 100 cases.