Michigan May Have Gone Red in 2010, But It Remains Solidly Pro-Obama

I’ve thought it to be somewhat ironic that, after saving the auto industry, Barack Obama saw his party get blown out in this year’s election. Of course, besides the bad economy, that might partially be because Michigan Democrats waged an awful campaign, concentrating on Willie Horton type ads and attacks on governor-elect Rick Snyder for outsourcing while at Gateway.

It has also been a big question as to how much the 2010 election can be taken as predictive of  the 2012 election–with history suggesting no meaningful predictive value. A Public Policy Polling survey from Michigan shows that Obama leads most Republicans by double digits. The only exception is Mitt Romney, son of former governor George Romney, who manages to stay within four points due to his ties to the state. My bet is that once Michigan voters realize Mitt Romney is no George Romney this gap will widen.

Compared to the Republican field Obama’s numbers look stratospheric. Only Romney is viewed favorably by a plurality of voters in the state, with 39% holding a favorable opinion to 37% with an unfavorable one. Beyond him the GOP field ranges from slightly unpopular (Mike Huckabee’s 37/40 favorability) to very unpopular (Newt Gingrich’s 28/50), to extremely unpopular (Sarah Palin’s 34/60). What might be most striking for the Republicans beyond Romney is their numbers with independents. Huckabee’s net favorability with them is -14 (29/43), Gingrich’s is -39 (20/59), and Palin’s is -40 (28/68)

In addition to leading the GOP candidates in a hypothetical race, Obama has an approval rating of 50% and is supported by a plurality of independents 47 percent to 44 percent.

2 Comments

  1. 1
    Paul smith says:

    RT @RonChusid: Michigan May Have Gone Red in 2010, But It Remains Solidly Pro-Obama #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/fYII1E

  2. 2
    Mikaela Skye says:

    RT @RonChusid: Michigan May Have Gone Red in 2010, But It Remains Solidly Pro-Obama #p2 #p21 #topprog http://bit.ly/fYII1E

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