Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters holds a small lead over Republican challenger John James in the Michigan race, according to a new statewide poll, but they are in a virtually statistical dead heat in a race where the candidates have raised a combined $17.3 million.
Peters, who is finishing his first term, is ahead of James 44% to 40% in a Glengariff Group poll of 600 likely Michigan voters that was provided to The Detroit News. About 16% of voters are undecided in a race that is expected to receive national attention since Peters is one of two senators running in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016.
The close race is “fairly typical for a first-term senator running for re-election,” said Richard Czuba, pollster and founder of Lansing-based Glengariff Group.
“It’s always the most difficult re-election that a U.S. senator tends to get,” Czuba said. “This is not unexpected.”
Glengariff’s poll marks the first survey taken this year in the contest.
Rand Paul seeks contempt charges after Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment more than 70 times
Red state governor pummeled online after defying Trump’s deportation orders
Fact Check: No, Trump Did Not Wire Money to Epstein 4,700 Times
Watch: Fauci’s Attorney Ejected from Senate Hearing for ‘Disrupting Proceedings’
Close call at Atlanta airport forces Delta anti-collision alarms to sound
Fauci repeatedly pleads Fifth in fiery showdown with Rand Paul
Dispatch audio released in Michigan family murder-suicide as troubled family’s secrets emerge
WATCH: Battleground Democrat called Iowa a ‘backwater’ over transgender athletes ban
Iran Releases Sick Video Showing Terrorists How to Target Melania, Suggests Neuro Toxin Strategy, Then Takes Aim at Barron
The Electoral College Must Be Protected: Here’s Why
‘Tip of the iceberg’: NJ illegal voting scandal explodes with more key systems at risk
Coercion Is the Abortion Debate We Aren’t Having
DOJ can’t release Biden tapes while hiding Jack Smith report, watchdog says
Scientists who nominated Fauci for prize money received millions in NIAID funding
No Jews on Mamdani’s ‘truly representative’ NYC judiciary panel, sparking backlash
James, the Farmington Hills businessman and combat veteran, is making his second bid for the Senate after losing by a smaller-than-expected 6.5 percentage points to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Lansing, a longtime Democratic incumbent.
Peters of Bloomfield Township has raised $9.3 million since the beginning of last year compared with nearly $8 million for James, who out-raised Peters $3.5 million to $2.5 million in the last quarter of 2019.
Czuba said both candidates have relatively low name identification — Peters is at 70% compared with James’ 59% — but “there’s a lot of room to grow for both of them.”
Peters first won his seat in the U.S. Senate in 2014 with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican former Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land. In that GOP wave election when Republicans seized control of the Senate, Peters was the only non-incumbent Democratic to emerge victorious.
“Sen. Peters is focused on his work in the Senate delivering for Michigan, expanding job training, securing a record funding increase for the Great Lakes, and working to bring down health care and prescription drug costs,” said Dan Farough, Peters’ campaign manager. “He will run and win on his strong record of fighting for middle class families and working across party lines to get results.”
Rand Paul seeks contempt charges after Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment more than 70 times
Red state governor pummeled online after defying Trump’s deportation orders
Fact Check: No, Trump Did Not Wire Money to Epstein 4,700 Times
Watch: Fauci’s Attorney Ejected from Senate Hearing for ‘Disrupting Proceedings’
Close call at Atlanta airport forces Delta anti-collision alarms to sound
Fauci repeatedly pleads Fifth in fiery showdown with Rand Paul
Dispatch audio released in Michigan family murder-suicide as troubled family’s secrets emerge
WATCH: Battleground Democrat called Iowa a ‘backwater’ over transgender athletes ban
Iran Releases Sick Video Showing Terrorists How to Target Melania, Suggests Neuro Toxin Strategy, Then Takes Aim at Barron
The Electoral College Must Be Protected: Here’s Why
‘Tip of the iceberg’: NJ illegal voting scandal explodes with more key systems at risk
Coercion Is the Abortion Debate We Aren’t Having
DOJ can’t release Biden tapes while hiding Jack Smith report, watchdog says
Scientists who nominated Fauci for prize money received millions in NIAID funding
No Jews on Mamdani’s ‘truly representative’ NYC judiciary panel, sparking backlash
The early poll results are terrific for James, said Stu Sandler, a longtime GOP consultant who worked on James’ 2018 campaign and is involved with this one too.
“It’s a statistical dead heat, and John is performing strong and he’s doing well,” Sandler said. “Voters are responding to him. We’re not surprised by these numbers. We feel good about them. But we’ve got a long way to go.”
Trump, whom James heartily embraced in his race against Stabenow, may play a role in the Senate race since he has a low favorability rating in Michigan, where Democrats have the voting registration advantage and are motivated to vote, Czuba said.
“The bottom line is this race is going to be caught in the national current,” he said. “Whatever happens nationally or plays out in Michigan, is going to reflected in this U.S. Senate race. In 2020, we continue to look at a historic motivation to vote which means a lot of voters are turning out. And big turnout helps Democrats.”
Story cited here.
