Republicans Have a Shot at Michigan Governor's Seat in 2010

Michigan voters strongly disapprove of the job that Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is doing, and when asked whether they would vote Republican or Democrat in next year's gubernatorial election, they divided down the middle, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Oct. 21.

Thirty-seven percent said they'd vote Democrat and 36 percent Republican with 27 percent undecided. Independents favor the Republicans by 2-to-1, but 55 percent of them are undecided.

Sixty percent of voters disapprove of the job Granholm is doing, with 47 percent of those "strongly" disapproving. Forty percent view her positively.

Granholm is term-limited, and the field of candidates to succeed her is crowded. An Epic-MRA poll conducted Oct. 11-15 had Lt. Gov. John Cherry ahead of the Democratic pack, while Attorney General Mike Cox and Rep. Pete Hoekstra are the leading Republican contenders.