New poll echos others: Buch and Gore neck and neck in Michigan
By Amy Franklin / Associated Press
LANSING -- A new presidential poll released Friday shows presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore in a statistical dead heat, similar to other recent statewide polls.
The poll, conducted Tuesday through Thursday by Marketing Resource Group of Lansing, showed Bush at 45 percent and Gore at 39 percent. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader got 5 percent.
The comes a day after results of two other polls showed Gore and Bush virtually tied in this crucial battleground state with little more than a week left before the Nov. 7 election.
A Detroit News/Mitchell Poll conducted Monday through Wednesday showed each man getting 42 percent. A Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll taken at the same time by EPIC/MRA of Lansing had Gore at 44 percent, Bush at 42 percent. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader got 3 percent in both polls.
"All these polls are agreeing in one sense: The presidential race is a dead heat in Michigan," said Craig Ruff, head of Public Sector Consultants in Lansing. "Both candidates have tried valiantly to jar public opinion here and they have made no progress."
The Marketing Resource poll also showed the race tightening between Republican U.S. Sen. Spence Abraham and his challenger, Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow. Abraham, of Auburn Hills, is at 49 percent and Stabenow, of Lansing, is at 41 percent.
"In both races -- the presidential and the Senate -- the partisan split is starting to solidify," said Paul King, director of survey research for Marketing Resource Group.
Gore appears to be losing middle-aged voters, with those between 35 and 54 siding with Bush, King said. But Gore is chipping away Bush's lead among older voters, he said.
Ten percent of the 500 likely Michigan voters polled by Marketing Resource Group said they were undecided. The poll has a 5-point margin of error.
Michigan GOP Chairman Rusty Hills said he was pleased with the results of the poll, but said the party is not celebrating yet.
"We've got to stay focused," Hills said. "This election will decided on three things: turnout, turnout, turnout. ... It's going to be down to the wire."
Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer said neither party can say they have the lead in the state's presidential race. That's why candidates are spending so much time in Michigan, he said. Bush campaigned all day in the state Friday, and Gore is planning a statewide swing Sunday.
"There's a lot of work going on still," Brewer said. "We know nothing is guaranteed, that's why we are working hard."
Nader remains a factor in the race, especially with his appeal to younger voters, King said.
"Nader is making a case that he is the liberal candidate here," King said.
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