I have more good news to announce:
http://www.freep.com/...
The Michigan governor’s race has tightened by six points, while the gap has widened by three points in the race for the U.S. Senate, according to a new statewide poll from EPIC-MRA of Lansing.
Results from the poll, released first to the Free Press, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and their statewide media partners, show Republican Gov. Rick Snyder now leading Democratic challenger Mark Schauer 46%-43%. In May, the EPIC-MRA poll showed Snyder leading Schauer by 9 points, 47%-38%.
In the race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, the new poll shows U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat, leading former Michigan Secretary of State Republican Terri Lynn Land, by 9 points, 45%-36%. The May EPIC-MRA survey showed Peters leading Land 44%-38%.
Both polls surveyed 600 likely voters using live telephone operators and have margins of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Cell phone users made up 20% of each sample.
Both races could have huge political significance: An incumbent governor has not been defeated in Michigan since 1990. And national pundits have said control of the U.S. Senate could largely hinge on the battle to fill the vacancy being created by the pending retirement of U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, a Detroit Democrat.
“The race is clearly tightening for governor, and it could get interesting,” said Bernie Porn, president of EPIC-MRA. But in the U.S. Senate race, “the Land campaign has just not performed up to the standards they need to.”
The results for the governor’s race, which are inside the margin of error, appear to show undecided voters breaking in favor of Schauer. The percentage of voters who said they were undecided about the race or wouldn’t say whom they would support was 11% in July, down from 15% in May.
Porn said the Democratic base appears to be backing Schauer more as the election draws closer. - Detroit Free Press, 7/17/14
Democratic voters are coming home and Snyder and the GOP are nervous. That's why they're resorting to this:
http://www.detroitnews.com/...
For the third time this year, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer is accusing Republicans of attempting to spy on his campaign.
But this time, the suspected political subterfuge involves a high-tech hidden camera and a video memory disk that fell into the hands of Democrats.
And Republicans are defending their campaign snooping.
Schauer’s campaign and Oakland County Democrats recently came into possession of a tiny disk containing raw video footage of a young woman and man who secretly recorded a Schauer campaign fundraiser June 22 at a private home in Bloomfield Hills.
A spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party acknowledged Wednesday the state party sent staffers Natalie Collins and Kyle Anderson into the fundraiser to videotape Schauer and his running mate, Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown.
Tracking and recording the words and actions of candidates isn’t new, said Darren Littell, communications director of the Michigan Republican Party.
Littell defended the ethical nature of using hidden cameras. Secretly recorded video harmed Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign when he was caught on tape claiming 47 percent of Americans depend on the government, making them sure votes for President Barack Obama.
“Republicans do it; Democrats do it,” Littell told The Detroit News. “People use different ways to get the footage. ... This is a newer approach.”
Schauer spokesman Zack Pohl called it a “dirty trick.”
“I would call on the two people in this video, Kyle and Natalie, to be fired immediately,” Pohl said.
Littell said the two GOP state party staffers did nothing wrong.
Frank Houston, chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party, said tracking candidates at public events is an acceptable campaign tactic.
“That’s a little different than sneaking into private meetings,” Houston said. “It’s totally legitimate to track what people are doing. … What is new about this is they’re acting like they’re in ‘Mission Impossible’ or James Bond or something and trying to do it on the fly. That’s the line that seems to be getting crossed here.” - The Detroit News, 7/16/14
And Land has not only turned out to be a shitty candidate but also a shady one:
http://www.usatoday.com/...
GOP Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has given her own campaign nearly $3 million this year and last, but nowhere in her financial disclosure form has she listed any bank accounts or other assets in her control worth that much.
Her campaign says it's an oversight, claiming Land — who enforced election laws while she was Michigan's secretary of state — inadvertently failed to disclose a joint account she has with her husband, Dan Hibma.
But it still leaves unanswered questions about the source of the funds. It also raises questions about whether such a transfer — if from her husband's assets — violates the spirit of the campaign contribution law.
"If a non-candidate spouse gives money to a candidate spouse to influence that candidate's election, it's subject to contribution limit," said Paul Ryan, senior counsel with the Campaign Legal Center. "This raises a red flag for me. A candidate suddenly coming into possession of several million dollars raises questions for me."
Land is running against Democratic Rep. Gary Peters for the seat of retiring Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Election law is murky. In Michigan, immediate family members have a $50,000 limit on contributions. For federal campaigns, spouses are held to the same contribution limits as anyone else: $2,600 for each election for a total of $5,200 per election cycle.
But candidates may typically tap into joint accounts with their spouses. The question would be — if a complaint were to be made in such a case — whether the Federal Election Commission considered a transfer of funds into a joint account for campaign use to be a limited contribution.
"The general principle is that it's permissible (to use this funding) if there's been a history of transferring it ... prior to the candidacy," said Jan Baran, a former general counsel for the Republican National Committee. "Otherwise it's not going to be permitted during the period of time the person is a candidate."
In Land's tax forms and her 2014 financial disclosure, she and her husband listed no joint assets, nor any checking account controlled by either with more than $250,000 in it. The vast majority of their considerable wealth was listed solely in his name.
Recently, Land has also made a point of noting that any assets related to her family's real estate company, Land & Co., are controlled by her husband, not her. - USA Today, 7/17/14
Things are looking good for us in Michigan but we can't take anything for granted. Click here to donate and get involved with Schauer and Peters' campaigns:
http://markschauer.com/
http://www.petersformichigan.com/...