Gary Peters
Finally, a Michigan poll from a decent pollster.
Public Policy Polling's new survey finds Democratic Rep. Gary Peters retaking the lead from Republican former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land: He's now up 41-36, after trailing 42-40 in December. Remarkably, despite all that heavy ad spending (and Obamacare lies exposed as b.s.) from Americans for Prosperity, Peters' favorables have barely budged, from 21-22 late last year to 26-27 now. Ironically, it's Land, who has faced far fewer negative ads, who has seen her favorability plummet, from 34-23 to 28-31. Good job, Koch boys!
The governor's race, meanwhile, is all but unchanged. GOP Gov. Rick Snyder leads Democratic ex-Rep. Mark Schauer 43-39, compared to 44-40 in December. Snyder's job approval score remains underwater at 40-48, little different from last time, and Schauer, like Peters, is barely known, with favorables of 22-23. As we always say, no incumbent ever wants to find himself in the low 40s, and much like AFP's experience, all the money Snyder's spent on weird ads trying to boost his image evidently hasn't had much of an impact.
Finally, PPP's generic legislative ballot question shows Democrats with a healthy 46-36 lead on Republicans. Since the median seat in both the state House and Senate is about 10 points to the right of the state as a whole (thanks to GOP gerrymandering), an edge like this could be enough for Democrats to take back either chamber.