No, I’m not talking about the steady stream of job losses in Michigan when I talk about Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s lousy numbers. I’m more interested in the latest Detroit News poll, which has Granholm down 8 point since March.
Here’s the report from the Detroit News:
Michigan's race for governor has turned into a statistical dead heat, with Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her Republican challenger, Dick DeVos, each drawing 43 percent support among likely voters in a new poll.
The statewide poll further found voters in a foul mood, with two-thirds saying the state is headed in the wrong direction.
The April 3-9 survey of 600 active voters was conducted by EPIC/ MRA of Lansing and has a 4 percentage point error margin.
"The voters are grumpy," pollster Ed Sarpolus said.
Asked to rate the Michigan economy over the past several months, 63 percent said it had gotten worse, while 3 percent said it had improved and 30 percent judged it about the same.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis has been harping on the job losses under Granholm for months. The message is finally starting to reach voters, who have probably grown tired of the governor’s liberal economic policies and lack of leadership.
Here’s how Saul framed it today on the Michigan GOP’s blog:
Granholm’s failed leadership resulting in Michigan’s single state recession is now taking a toll on her own re-election. Ed Sarpolous, Granholm’s 2002 pollster now has a survey putting the race dead even: 43%-43%.
Granholm and her allies are going to continue their attacks upon DeVos and ratchet it up – it’s their game plan, their campaign strategy. Polls will go up and down and at this point it’s too early, they’re not worth much.
However, the poll confirms the trend….Granholm’s numbers continue to slide and DeVos continues to introduce himself to the voters of Michigan…and apparently they like what they see. EPIC/MRA is a Democrat consulting firm and the sample seems to be a bit too Republican/Independent…but it’s only a snapshot in time.
At a time when Republicans can’t seem to get any good news, DeVos is certainly an encouraging development. And as my fellow Right Angle blogger Matt Lewis pointed out recently, the woman Democrats wanted to run for President one day might not even win a second term.
