Michigan Senate candidates in dead heat for recognition, support

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — More than half of Michiganders don’t recognize the names of some of the leading candidates for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat – although a race between two of them is a statistical tie.

More than 50% (51%) of those surveyed didn’t recognize the name Elissa Slotkin. The 7th District Democratic Congresswoman is considered one of the top candidates to replace Debbie Stabenow, who is stepping down after 24 years in the Senate.

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Slotkin is running against several people for the Democratic nomination for Senate, including actor and activist Hill Harper and Detroit businessman Beydoun Nasser. Slotkin – who was the only Democrat mentioned in the EPIC MRA survey – has raised more than 10 times as much money as her nearest counterpart.

More than 60% (61%) don’t recognize the name Mike Rogers. Rogers is a former member of Congress who represented much of the same area as Slotkin (including Ingham and Livingston counties) when he served from 2001 to 2015. He faces numerous fellow Republicans, including businessman Sandy Pensler and former Congressman Peter Meijer for the Republican nomination. Through the end of December, Rogers has raised $1.8 million – more than any of his competitors. Rogers was the only Republican mentioned in the survey.

Both would need to win their respective August primaries before squaring off against each other. But if they did, the poll of 600 likely Michigan voters suggests a virtual tie – Slotkin has 39% support to Rogers 38% – though the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

Perhaps because neither is particularly well known, almost a quarter of those asked (23%) said they were either undecided or refused to say who they would support.

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The 10% difference in the number of people who know the candidates makes up for the difference in their favorability rating. Slotkin’s favorable rating is 23% to Rogers’ 13%. Both are seen unfavorably by 11% of those asked.

The race to replace Stabenow is important to the balance of power in Washington. Democrats and their independent supporters currently hold 51 seats in the Senate to the Republicans 49.

The poll was conducted between February 13th and February 18th. Of those polled, 41% said they were Democrats, 41% said they were Republicans, and 14% identified as independents. The rest refused to say.

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