(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Republican candidate Dick DeVos is the frontrunner in the Great Lake State’s gubernatorial election, according to two recent voting intention polls. In a survey by EPIC/MRA, 46 per cent of respondents would vote for DeVos, while 44 per cent would support Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm. In a study by Strategic Vision, DeVos holds a seven-point edge over Granholm.
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Republican candidate Dick DeVos is the frontrunner in the Great Lake State’s gubernatorial election, according to two recent voting intention polls. In a survey by EPIC/MRA, 46 per cent of respondents would vote for DeVos, while 44 per cent would support Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm. In a study by Strategic Vision, DeVos holds a seven-point edge over Granholm.
Granholm was elected in November 2002, defeating Republican challenger Dick Posthumus with 51 per cent of the vote. In June 2005, Dick DeVos—former chief executive officer at Alticor and husband of former state Republican chairwoman Betsy DeVos—announced he would seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
On Jun. 21, DeVos presented his 64-page “Michigan Turnaround Plan: Version 2.0″, which includes proposals to change existing tax, education and health care policies. Granholm campaign spokesman Chris DeWitt dismissed the document, saying, “(It) has no depth, no substance, no specifics and a lot of unanswered questions.”
The gubernatorial election is scheduled for Nov. 7. Since 1943, Michigan has had five Republican and four Democratic heads of government.
Polling Data
a) Which candidate would you vote for in the 2006 gubernatorial election?
Jun. 20 | Jun. 9 | May 2006 | |
Dick DeVos (R) | 46% | 48% | 46% |
Jennifer Granholm (D) | 44% | 40% | 45% |
Undecided | 10% | 12% | 9% |
Source: EPIC/MRA
Methodology: Interviews with 600 likely Michigan voters, conducted from Jun. 13 to Jun. 20, 2006. Margin of error is 4 per cent.
b) If the election for governor were held today, whom would you vote for Jennifer Granholm, the Democrat or Dick DeVos, the Republican?
Jun. 2006 | May 2006 | Apr. 2006 | |
Dick DeVos (R) | 48% | 45% | 42% |
Jennifer Granholm (D) | 41% | 42% | 43% |
Undecided | 11% | 13% | 15% |
Source: Strategic Vision
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,200 registered Michigan voters, conducted from Jun. 16 to Jun. 18, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
