[nfbmi-talk] Newsline Fix on Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General Races

[Fred Wurtzel]

Hi,

 

Just thought you all may want this info.

 

Warmest Regards,

 

Fred

 

 

GRAND RAPIDS -- A state poll out today shows Democratic gubernatorial
candidate Virg

Bernero still trailing Republican Rick Snyder by double-digit percentages.

The party's secretary of state and attorney general candidates also lag
behind their

GOP opponents. A survey taken Monday of 400 likely voters, conducted by the
Rossman

Group of Lansing and Team TelCom, showed 49.5 percent of those polled would
vote

for Snyder, with 35.8 percent supporting Bernero and 14.8 percent undecided.
The

margin of error is +/- 5.6 percent.

"There has been no game changer, nothing to change the dynamics for
Democrats in

this mid-term election," said Craig Ruff, a political analyst with Lansing's
Public

Sector Consultants. "Republicans are leading because of the combination of
feelings

about President Obama and Gov. Granholm."

Ruff said he thought Snyder's lead would have narrowed closer to 10 points
by now

because "Democrats would come home." He said the survey's 14-point edge is
less than

the 20-point lead that a Rasmussen Reports poll showed.

Snyder continues to campaign in Grand Rapids and West Michigan, but Ruff
said Bernero

won't gain much by spending time in the area.

"He needs to shore up the Democratic base, and that's definitely in
Southeast Michigan,

Flint and Saginaw -- everything east of 127," Ruff said of Bernero.

But spokesman Cullen Schwartz said Bernero is not going to stop campaigning
in Grand

Rapids and West Michigan in the final stretch of the election.

"The West Side is extremely important, not just to the outcome of the
election but

for Michigan's future," Schwartz said.

Of the 400 surveyed, 74 were from West Michigan. In that group, 35.1 percent
supported

Bernero, compared to 47.3 percent for Snyder and 17.6 percent undecided.

Democratic candidates for other statewide offices also have to close gaps to
be competitive

Nov. 2. GOP secretary of state candidate Ruth Johnson got the vote of 43
percent

of those surveyed, compared to 31.5 percent for Democrat Jocelyn Benson, but
25.5

percent were undecided.

In the attorney general race, Republican Bill Schuette received support from
45 percent

of those surveyed, and Democrat David Leyton had 31.5 percent, with 23.5
percent

undecided.

E-mail Monica Scott:

mscott at grpress.com