GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Aug. 7 primary is less than two weeks away, and the candidates for Michigan governor have a lot of ground to cover, a new EPIC-MRA poll partly commissioned by WOOD TV8 reveals.
When asked about each candidate, a large share of surveyed voters said they had never heard of or had no opinion about them.
Democrat Shri Thanedar, whose had campaign ads airing since the Super Bowl, was the most recognized of the candidates, with only 26 percent of those surveyed saying they had never heard or had no opinion about him. Abdul El-Sayed was the least recognized by Democratic voters, with 36 percent saying they had never heard or had no opinion about him.
Of Republican voters polled, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette had the most recognizable name, but 30 percent still said they had never heard or had no opinion about him. Patrick Colbeck was the least known, with 68 percent saying they never heard of him or had no opinion about him.
THE REPUBLICANS
The Republican primary is anyone’s race to win, based on the poll. While Schuette took one-third of the vote in the survey, another third of voters said they were undecided. Lieutenant Gov. Brian Calley was favored by 18 percent of surveyed Republicans, followed by Patrick Colbeck (10 percent) and Jim Hines (6 percent).
However, if pressured to vote immediately, 42 percent of GOP undecideds said Schuette would get their support. Calley took 24 percent of the otherwise undecided vote, followed by Colbeck (11 percent) and Hines (8 percent).
The race between the two Republican candidates for Senate is also tight, the poll shows. At 32 percent, John James holds a 3 percent margin over Sandy Pensler, within the survey’s margin of error. But undecideds could once again tip the scales; 39 percent of Republicans surveyed said they were not sure how they would vote.
However, if pressured to vote immediately, 39 percent of GOP undecideds said James would get their support. Pensler took 38 percent of the otherwise undecided vote.
THE DEMOCRATS
Among Democrats, Gretchen Whitmer is the one to beat, based on the survey. When asked who they have either voted for or intend to vote for in the primary, 42 percent of surveyed Democrats said they’d pick her. Shri Thanedar came in a distant second with 19 percent of the vote, followed by Abdul El-Sayed with 15 percent.
If the survey is any indication, Thanedar could flip the results if he captured most of the undecided Democrats. An El-Sayed win is also within the survey’s margin of error, if he took every undecided vote.
However, Whitmer still held an edge among undecided Democrats who were polled. If they were forced to vote right now, 49 percent of undecided Democrat voters said they would choose her, compared to 22 percent for Shri Thanedar and 19 percent Abdul El-Sayed.
The EPIC-MRA survey was conducted July 21 and July 22. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.