Lansing — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has a 60-percentage-point lead over her Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, in the Aug. 4 primary election that’s less than three weeks away, according to a new statewide poll.
Benson leads Swanson 72% to 12%, with roughly 16% of Democrats remaining undecided, according to the poll conducted by Lansing-based Glengariff Group and commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4). The survey of 500 likely primary voters also showed Benson far outstrips Swanson in name identification.
The poll was conducted July 8-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. A little more than 8 out of 10 participants were contacted via their cell phones and the others were reached over landline.
“There’s no race here,” said pollster Richard Czuba, founder of Glengariff. “Jocelyn Benson is cruising to a very large win.”
Swanson, when contacted by The News, said the polling does not reflect what he’s seeing on the campaign trail and speculated the poll’s margin of error was actually 60 points.
“We’ll see what happens Aug. 4,” Swanson said. “The amount of ground game that we have built and the amount of energy that’s been created — that (poll) doesn’t deter me one bit.”
The poll also showed Benson had nearly 89% name identification among Democrats, with 70% viewing her favorably to 8% unfavorable.
Swanson, on the other hand, had 49% name identification with 15% favorable and 9% unfavorable, according to the poll; roughly 51% of Democratic primary voters had not heard of Swanson.
Benson is going to “blow the lid” off the Democratic primary race, Czuba said, but Swanson’s continued presence in the contest has ensured Democrats can’t be accused of arranging a coronation for Benson.
Likewise, the departure earlier this year of Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II from the race and the choice by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to run as an independent for governor have proved advantageous for Benson, Czuba said. Duggan suspended his campaign for governor in May and Gilchrist left the gubernatorial race in January to run for secretary of state.
“It seems like Mike Duggan, in retrospect, has done Jocelyn Benson a huge favor by running as an independent, then pulling out,” Czuba said. “Because he has essentially spared her a challenge on the left. So she has secured a nomination without having to move too far left.
“Even if Garlin Gilchrist had remained in that race,” Czuba added, “she would need to be having a very different conversation with Democratic voters right now.”
One poll participant, Amanda Helinski-Reed, said she’s eager to see another female governor leading Michigan and believes Benson will do a good job in that role. She hopes the next governor will tackle health care access and affordability as well as the state’s deteriorating education system.
“I think that she would use some compassion on some of the issues that we need resolved,” the 50-year-old Brooklyn woman said.
John Watson, 60, of Kentwood, said he’s hopeful the state’s new top leaders address health care affordability. Watson, who is self-employed, has seen rates skyrocket on the health care marketplace.
He’s uncertain to what extent a governor can resolve those issues, but he’s hopeful Benson will at least make attempts to address the problem.
“Hopefully, she just stays in line with what the governor has done; I think she’s doing a great job,” Watson said of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “I think Jocelyn Benson will step in line and do the same thing.”
Jody Domerese, another poll participant, is throwing her support behind Swanson, whom she has known for many years as a “good man” worthy of the state’s trust.
“I don’t think Benson is a terrible candidate,” the 68-year-old Fenton woman said. “I just know Chris as a person who, I believe, legitimately wants to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Because I’ve watched him do that when he was younger, and as sheriff.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Benson has a huge lead in Democratic governor primary, poll shows
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
