Some mixed news out of Michigan:
http://www.detroitnews.com/...
Gov. Rick Snyder holds a nearly 10 percentage point lead over Democratic challenger Mark Schauer heading into the summer campaign season, while Democrat Gary Peters has a slim lead over his Republican opponent Terri Lynn Land, a new Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll shows.
Peters’ advantage over Land is 4.3 percentage points — just outside of the margin of error for the statewide survey of 600 likely voters. While Peters leads 39.6 percent to Land’s 35.3 percent, 23 percent of likely voters remain undecided, according to the poll, which was conducted May 20-22.
Their contest to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Carl Levin is drawing increasing national attention.
In the governor’s race, Snyder leads Schauer 45 percent to 35.2 percent, with about 18 percent of voters undecided.
With Election Day just over five months away, Schauer is still struggling to get attention from voters, with 57.8 percent of respondents being able to identify him, pollster Richard Czuba said.
Within his own Democratic base, more than one-third of voters from union households “don’t know who Mark Schauer is,” Czuba said, while 41 percent of Detroit voters have not heard of him and one-quarter of Democratic voters said they would vote for Snyder if the election were held today. - The Detroit News, 5/27/14
But TPM points out the key reason Peters is ahead:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
An EPIC-MRA poll released late Tuesday found Peters leading Land 44 percent to 38 percent among 600 likely Michigan voters. That poll also found Peters leading Land 47 percent to 33 percent among women voters with 20 percent undecided.
Gender issues have been one of the trending topics of the Michigan Senate race. In April TPM noted that Land, in a 2010 speech at the Senior Women's Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, argued that women prioritize flexibility in a job over salary. That comment sparked prominent criticism from Democrats and two weeks later Land released a new ad pushing back at the implication that Peters knows more about women than she does because she is a women.
"Congressman Gary Peters and his buddies want you to believe I'm waging a war on women. Really?" Land said in that ad.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor for Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, cautioned to TPM that a gender gap showing women preferring a generic Democrat to a generic Republican has been a longtime trend in federal elections for a while. Kondik pointed to a Crystal Ball post showing that in the last six presidential elections women voters tended to prefer a generic Democratic candidate over a generic Republican.
Another poll, by the Detroit News/WDIV-TV released near midnight on Tuesday, also found Peters leading Land. That poll of 600 likely voters found Peters leading Land 39.6 percent to 35.3 percent among likely voters while 23 percent said they were undecided. - TPM, 5/28/14
The EPIC-MRA poll was conducted from May 17 to May 20. The Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll was conducted May 20-22. Here's some more info:
http://www.freep.com/...
“The ads by Peters (and his allies) attacking Land on women’s issues have had more of an impact in terms of the race than the Obamacare attacks on Peters have benefitted Land,” said Bernie Porn, EPIC-MRA’s pollster.
Land is expected to try to close that gap among women — Peters’ lead of 47%-33% with 20% undecided indicates there could be room to do so — but she’ll have to do so in the face of repeated reminders of her support of Republican policies being portrayed by Democrats as hurtful to women.
Democratic groups have hit hard at Land saying policies she supports could restrict women’s access to health care; last month, President Barack Obama also chided Land without mentioning her by name for saying women were “more interested in flexibility in a job” than pay equity.
Land responded with an ad called “Really?” in which she patiently looked at the camera and her watch while asking viewers to consider who knew more about women, her or Peters.
“As a woman I might know a little bit more about women than Gary Peters,” she said.
Some voters disagree, in some cases turned off by support Land has received from outside groups including Americans for Prosperity, an organization linked to conservative backers Charles and David Koch. AFP has spent several million dollars in Michigan on ads including those hitting Peters for his support of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
“The Koch brothers have put so much money into trying to win over Michigan that anything that has something to do with them I don’t want any part of,” said Kristin Ratynski, a 66-year-old retired medical assistant and self-described independent voter living in Highland Park.
The Affordable Care Act may have its problems, she said, but they can be fixed.
And the attacks on Peters — estimates show Republicans outspending Democrats so far in the race — for voting for the ACA as a congressman may have limited impact: While the poll showed 53% of Michiganders opposed Obamacare, only 36% said it would make a difference in how they voted.
Land led significantly, 71%-12%, among those voters. But Peters held a sizeable lead, 78%-12%, among the 26% of those surveyed who said support of the ACA made it more likely they would vote for a candidate. More importantly, he led 50%-25%, with 25% undecided, among the 35% of those surveyed who said it would make no difference in how they voted. - Detroit Free Press, 5/27/14
These polls are very encouraging because it shows that Land is a weak candidate and that the Koch Brothers are only hurting her chances. Of course the Koch Brothers won't give up on trying to buy this seat and keep Snyder in charge. So lets make sure Peters and Schauer are ready to win in November. Click here to contribute to their campaigns:
http://www.petersformichigan.com/...
http://markschauer.com/