Late push by Dixon helps tighten Michigan governor’s race
By: David J. Skaggs
The race for Michigan governor has tightened since the last report. Incumbent Republican John LePage’s term is not up until 2018 – but his approval ratings have been declining steadily. And a handful of polls have shown that he would be competitive against Democratic candidate Mark Schauer, should he become governor and if no challenger emerges in the interim.
A new poll of likely primary voters, however, shows that the governor’s race is going to stay pretty much where it is now, with Schauer leading LePage 40 percent to 35 percent. And LePage’s approval rating is slipping, according to the poll, with 46 percent approving his performance in his current job, and about a third disapproving.
In the general elections a year from now, the race will be much tighter, if it stays the same. The poll puts the Democratic candidate leading Republican Scott P. Schiller 42 to 37 percent, with about a third of the voters undecided. But that will be an exceptionally tight contest, as the incumbent governor has a large favorability advantage over the Democratic candidate.
The Democratic challenger is clearly excited about the fact that the polls have shown that he is polling well, and thinks that the governor’s campaign is missing a message. “Mark Schauer’s campaign is doing well. I’m glad they’re doing well. They’re making it harder and harder for Gov. LePage to beat him,” says Schauer. “Mark and I talk all the time about how the other side is trying to make it harder and harder to beat me. I just think they’ve got the wrong strategy. And I think they’re making it harder to win.”
But in the meantime, there is more bad news for LePage in the poll for a second consecutive month, where about a third of likely primary voters disapprove of the performance of the governor in his current job, and a quarter approve of the performance, with about a third disapproving. The governor is also underwater on the economy, at 46 percent favorable to only 40 percent unfavorable.
In the general election, the governor can expect a much less favorable verdict. His approval rating is down in the poll from