Poll: Snyder takes a tumble in state

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A new poll Michiganders believe things are generally headed in the right direction in the state, the economy is improving and President Obama has a higher favorable rating than Gov. Rick Snyder.

Those are among the results of a new EPIC-MRA poll released Wednesday.

By a margin of 46-39, residents think Michigan is headed in the right direction. An overwhelming percentage of respondents, 57-32, think the statewide economy is improving.

Gov. Snyder's favorability took a hit between December and the poll taken between Feb. 5-10. In December, residents had a 55% approval rating for the governor. But after the contentious and eventful lame duck legislative session at the end of 2012 -- during which a right-to-work law was passed and signed -- Snyder's approval rating dropped 13 points to 42%.

Additionally, 61% of respondents said Snyder is doing a "just fair" or "poor" job as governor, while 36% said he is "excellent" or "pretty good." Those numbers are also different from December, when he was viewed positively by a slim 51-48 margin.

"His slippage from a 51 to 48% positive job rating to a 61 to 36% negative job rating was clearly influenced by his actions on right-to-work, but could have also been influenced by his proposals to a much lesser extent on a proposed gas-tax increase and an increase in vehicle registration fees," EPIC-MRA concluded in their release. "Snyder’s slippage in personal favorability from a 55 to 32% favorable opinion to a 46 to 42% unfavorable opinion, is also likely heavily influenced by his decision to support right-to-work legislation."

When respondents were asked, "Do you favor or oppose the decision by the Michigan Legislature and Governor Snyder to make Michigan a 'Right to Work' state?" 45% are in favor and 50% oppose.  

Respondents were also asked if they would support a state constitutional amendment redrawing congressional districts to make them actually more competitive between parties, 46% favored the idea and 35% opposed it.

Overall, respondents self-identified as Democrats more than Republicans by a margin of 42-37.

The survey of 600 people has a margin of error of +/- 4%.