Poll: Mich GOP contenders faring well

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The GOP contenders are polling well in the race to become the state's next governor, while the current governor, Jennifer Granholm, continues to struggle in the approval ratings.

Those are the findings of a new wide-ranging poll from EPIC-MRA , done for WOOD TV8 and our broadcast partners, released Tuesday.

President Obama's statewide numbers are also down, with an equal number of respondents (48-48) having a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the president.

Granholm is viewed negatively by 66% of the respondents, with 33% having a positive view. However, that's a slight improvement from the previous month (68-32.)

Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra leads GOP contenders in the new poll.

The Holland congressman leads Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox 29-28, with former Senate candidate Mike Bouchard garnering 14% support. Businessman Rick Snyder has 3% and State Sen. Tom George 2%.

Lt. Gov. John Cherry is the clear leader among Democrats for the gubernatorial nomination, besting State Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith 33-5. Former MSU football coach George Perles and Don Williamson are at 3%, while John Freeman has 2% support. However, 54% of Democrats have not made up their mind.

Head-to-head numbers are not good for the Democrats. Cherry trails most of the GOP contenders. Cox leads Cherry 45-30; Bouchard leads 39-30; and Hoekstra leads 40-33. Cherry leads Snyder 34-32.

The poll was conducted between Oct. 11-15 of 600 voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4%.

Inside woodtv.com:

The EPIC-MRA poll released Oct. 20, 2009 (txt)