The first poll conducted after Michigan legislators finished the state budget shows 61 percent of Michigan voters say they are less likely to vote for legislative Republicans in 2012 because of controversial decisions to cut funding for public schools at the expense of tax breaks for some corporations, according to a recent poll commissioned by Lambert, Edwards & Associates and the Perricone Group.
The poll, conducted by Denno Research late last week, says only 25 percent of voters are more likely to vote for GOP legislators, while 36 percent said they were much less likely to vote for a Republican candidate that cast a vote against public schools, said former Speaker of the House Chuck Perricone, CEO of the Perricone Group.
“We’re seeing significant buyer’s remorse on the part of voters who elected Republicans into office,” said Chuck Perricone, CEO of the Perricone Group. “While certainly there is time to right the ship before the 2012 elections, GOP leaders should take these results seriously – cutting public schools across the state is accompanied with consequences at the local level.”
This comes from 600 registered, "likely" voters. State-based Lambert, Edwards & Associates is breaking into the polling business here in Michigan; nice to see some new blood, especially if they are consistent. Not thrilled with the way they phrase this next approval question, but here you go:
The poll also included barometers on most of the state’s political leaders. Participants were asked to rank Gov. Rick Snyder’s job performance – 28 percent gave the governor high marks, 31 percent gave him a medium rating, while 30 percent gave him a low rating. Undecideds came in at almost 12 percent.
President Obama scored slightly higher in the poll, with 38 percent giving the president high ratings, 27 percent giving him a medium grade, and 33 percent giving him a low ranking. Undecideds were small – with only 1.3 percent choosing not to answer the question.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow did better than both Obama and Snyder, with 34 percent giving the Democrat high ratings, 28 percent ranking her performance as medium, but only 22 percent gives her a low mark. 37 percent of respondents were unsure of Stabenow’s overall performance.
All this changes by next year of course, but it gives the Dems some indication of what to shoot for. Let's see if they use it.