LANSING ? Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s overall approval numbers have taken a major tumble from comfortable levels in August, and the drop seems to be coming from voters in Democratic Detroit, an opinion poll shows.
A pollster said the numbers suggest Granholm will have to pay attention to her base in the two years leading up to the 2006 election. And a Republican spokesperson said the numbers show the people of Michigan want real leadership, not press releases.
The poll, conducted among 610 people from December 8-12, showed that just 52 percent of those polled gave Granholm positive job ratings, compared to 63 percent positive job ratings in August. Her favorable rating has fallen to 57 percent favorable compared to 63 percent in August. A solid majority, 66 percent, of those polled thought Granholm had done an effective job as governor. There were no comparable August figures on her overall effectiveness.
And in the first indication she may face a rough re-election effort, only 30 percent of those polled said they would vote for her re-election, while 34 percent said they would consider voting for another candidate, 20 percent said they would vote to replace her, and the rest were undecided. The poll has an error rate of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Ed Sarpolus of EPIC/MRA, which conducted the poll, said dissatisfaction with Granholm by Detroit voters led the downslide. In August in the city, her job approval was 60 percent. Now it is 44 percent and her overall favorable rating in Detroit has fallen from 77 percent to 48 percent.
Three issues seem to drive the dissatisfaction in the city, he said: the economy, the state of Detroit schools and Granholm’s opposition to Proposal 04-1 which the Detroit casinos backed and Detroit voters supported (the proposal requires both a statewide and local vote on any non-Indian casino expansion).
The economy is the issue with which those polled said they were most concerned. Out of some 9 issues listed, 24 percent said improving the economy was their greatest concern, followed by 19 percent who said education had to be improved, and 18 percent who called for making quality health care affordable.
And 48 percent of those polled said the state is on the wrong track compared to 34 percent who said it was going in the right direction.
The public overall recognized that with the state’s economy in difficult straits, Granholm has had to make tough decisions, and 63 percent of those polled said Granholm had made tough decisions. Even 60 percent of the Republicans thought she had done so.
But in Detroit, her support had fallen enough that only 45 percent of those polled said she had made tough decisions.
Outside of Detroit, Ms. Granholm polled majorities approving of her job performance, but slim majorities in most other regions. Only 47 percent of respondents in the north gave her positive ratings. Her biggest support was in the outer Wayne County region where 60 percent gave her positive approval, but in the outer Metro Detroit region the figure was 52 percent and in the central and west regions, she had 51 percent job favorability.
Even with the drop in support, Sarpolus said Ms. Granholm is good position for the 2006 election. As a comparison, in December 1992, former Governor John Engler’s favorable rating was only 49 percent, and his job approval rating was just 43 percent. But he won re-election by a landslide in 1994.
But “if the election becomes close she cannot be hurting with her base,” Sarpolus said. Just like President Bush had to do in the November election, Granholm will have to reconnect with an important part of her base, he said.
Chris Paolino, spokesperson for the Michigan Republican Party, said Granholm’s decline in the poll is reflective of the voters’ response to her overall administration. The people want a leader and not someone who sends out press releases, he said. “It demonstrates the sheen is off the rose. Hopefully, it connotes a continuous drop” as the election draws nearer, he said.
But Liz Boyd, Granholm’s press spokesperson, said the governor does not pay much attention to polls, “whether they go up or go down.” But the governor does put stock into improving Michigan’s economy, she said.
This story was provided by content partner Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com.
