What does $38.20 buy these days? Well, it won't buy a tank of gas, but what it will buy is 30-seconds of airtime for a single ad for Gary Peters, who is taking on incumbent GOP Congressman Joe Knollenberg in Michigan's 9th District. Previously I introduced you to Peters, and told you a bit about what we are up against in Knollenberg, and why this is a race we can win. Why we can help move ever closer to such a majority in the House that we can avoid the ills associated with Blue Dog and other defections from truly progressive policies.
No, this is not a marquee matchup here on Daily Kos, but it one that the DCCC has targeted in the first wave of Red to Blue challengers' races. And now, based on some recent polling data which I'll detail below, there's all the more reason to believe that we can actually win this one.
If you've got a few moments and can spare $38.20, you can help.
Here are the two ads that have been cut for the campaign and which have been airing for about two weeks.
Our goal is to get this ads up as many times as possible because polling data released by the local ABC affiliate demostrates that once the voters get to know Gary Peters, he reverses what initially shows up as a name recognition advantage for Knollenberg.
Here's the deal:
In the poll conducted by WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, Joe Knollenberg leads Peters 43% to 36%. But Knollenberg's "beauty" is only skin deep, and clearly based upon a relative lack of name recognition for Peters. How so? Look at the other numbers [all emphasis added]:
George W. Bush
Favorable - 32%
Unfavorable - 67%
Barack Obama
Favorable - 55%
Unfavorable - 37%
John McCain
Favorable - 53%
Unfavorable - 42%
Joe Knollenberg
Favorable - 45%
Unfavorable - 27%
Gary Peters
Favorable - 18%
Unfavorable - 8%
Overall, how would you rate the job being done by George W. Bush as President -- would you give him a positive rating of excellent or pretty good, or a negative rating of just fair or poor?
28% Total Positive
71% Total Negative
How would you rate the job being done by Joe Knollenberg in the United States Congress – would you give him a positive rating of excellent or pretty good, or a negative rating of just fair or poor?
35% Total Positive
47% Total Negative
In the election for President, if the election were held today, would you vote for McCain the Republican, Barack Obama the Democrat, Ralph Nader the Independent, or Bob Barr the Libertarian?
42% Total Obama
39% Total McCain
Overall, a pretty positive poll. Yeah, Knollenberg's negatives could be lower . . . but that's what we're working on, and why we need your help. Clearly, we also need your help with boosting Peter's name recognition, as while 70% of those who had an opinion had a favorable one, only 26% of respondents had any opinion positive or negative.
And here's where the polling data is most impressive and optimistic. After reading the repondents a short bio of the two candidates, the poll numbers completely reverse themselves:
Now I would like to read a brief description of the two major party candidates running for congress.
Joe Knollenberg is 75 years old and the incumbent Republican. He was born in Mattoon, Illinois, attended public schools, and earned a Bachelors Degree from Eastern Illinois University. He served in the Army from 1955 to 1957. He is an insurance agent, small business owner, former PTA president, homeowner association president, and parish leader. He was first elected to Congress in 1992, and as the ranking member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, he has fought to bring federal funding for local road projects and environmental clean up to the area. He supports health care reforms to reduce costs for small businesses so they can be better able to offer insurance to their workers. He fought to rescind costly steel tariffs that drive up the cost of auto manufacturing, and has worked closely with L. Brooks Patterson to diversify the economy and attract good paying, high-tech jobs. He and his wife, Sandie, have been married for 45 years and have two grown sons.
Gary Peters is 49 years old and was born and raised in Oakland County. He graduated from Alma College in 1980, earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Detroit in 1984, and holds a law degree from Wayne State University. He served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve and a Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist. He is an accomplished businessman who served as Vice President for two major investment firms, taught finance at Wayne State and strategic management and business policy courses at Oakland University. He served on the Rochester Hills City Council, was twice elected to the Michigan Senate, where he worked to cut taxes for middle class families, and earned a reputation for fiscal responsibility and bipartisan leadership. After leaving the Senate to run for Michigan’s Attorney General, and losing a narrow election, Peters was appointed Commissioner of the Michigan Lottery where he generated record amounts of funding to help public schools. He and his wife Colleen Ochoa, have three children and reside in Bloomfield Township.
After hearing these descriptions, let me ask you again, if the election for Congress were held today, would you vote for Gary Peters the Democrat, Joe Knollenberg the Republican [independent candidates omitted]?
39% Total Knollenberg
43% Total Peters
Peters goes from a 7-point deficit to a 4-point lead, and puts Knollenberg under 40%.
So, please, if you can sponsor just one airing of either ad, you'll know your contribution will have a positive effect.
If you want to help us out, here's where you need to go, and what you need to do:
YOUR 30 SECONDS
Thanks.