washington, dc

The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Michigan Poll Shows Difference Between 2010 and 2012 Landscapes

Michigan was without a doubt one of the states that made the Rust Belt such a disaster for Democrats during the midterms. Republicans picked up two U.S. House seats; gained control of the state House to take over total control of the legislature; and won the governorship by a 58-40 landslide.
It’s interesting, then, that a new PPP poll of Michigan looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election shows Barack Obama beating all the big GOP names, even Michigan homeboy Mitt Romney. Obama leads Palin by 21 points; Gingrich by 15 points, Huckabee by 12 points, and Romney by 4 points. For grins, PPP even tests Obama against newly elected Republic Gov. Rick Snyder, and the president leads that one by 11 points.
Dave Weigel thinks this is probably all about the popularity of the Auto Industry Bailout in Michigan. I’m sure that’s an element of it, but just as importantly is the fact that we are talking about a different electorate voting on a different contest with different candidates in play. Get used to seeing this kind of poll in the future.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.