Michigan voters favor Gore, ThompsonThey back undeclared candidates; Clinton, Giuliani lead otherwise.
Charlie Cain and Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
The crowded field of presidential hopefuls isn't crowded enough to suit Michigan voters, who prefer two unannounced candidates for the Republican and Democratic nominations, a new Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll shows.
Former Tennessee Sen. and TV star Fred Thompson would lead the GOP pack and former Vice President Al Gore would top the Democratic slate should they decide to run, according to a statewide survey of 400 likely Republican and 400 likely Democratic primary voters in Michigan conducted last Wednesday through Monday by EPIC/MRA of Lansing.
When his name is included in the field, Gore gets 36 percent support compared to 32 percent for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, 16 percent for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 8 percent for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the poll shows. When voters stick to announced candidates only, it's Clinton with 45 percent, Obama at 26 percent and Edwards at 16 percent.
"Hillary stays on track and doesn't get rattled," said Alex Warrick, 61, of Detroit, who took part in the survey. "But I still think Gore is the best candidate. When he talks, we all listen."
Gore -- who narrowly lost a presidential bid to George W. Bush in 2000 after the Supreme Court decided Bush prevailed in Florida -- hasn't ruled out a second stab at the White House, but has yet to throw his hat in the ring. He won Michigan in 2000.
Dems happier with choices
On the Republican side, Thompson, who is strongly considering joining the fray, draws 22 percent of the GOP primary vote, followed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 19 percent, Arizona Sen. John McCain at 16 percent, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia at 15 percent and former Massachusetts governor and Michigan native Mitt Romney at 12 percent. Gingrich also has not announced he's running.
When only declared candidates are listed, Giuliani leads with 30 percent to 21 percent each for McCain and Romney.
"I like Mitt Romney but I don't think he can be elected. I'll support Giuliani because he can be elected. He appeals more to the middle of the road, the moderates and independents," said Cynthia Fahr, a retired antique dealer from New Baltimore who took part in the poll. "He comes off truthful and forthright."
The survey further reveals that 54 percent of GOP voters are satisfied and 40 percent dissatisfied with their slate. Among Democrats, 81 percent are pleased with the field and 18 percent aren't.
Pollster Ed Sarpolus of EPIC-MRA said Gore and Thompson do well "because they have better name recognition and they are more well-liked."
"Michigan Democrats are more satisfied with their choices, but they still don't have a lot of love for Hillary or Obama. They do love Al Gore," Sarpolus said.
"Republicans are just not happy with their choices," he added. "Fred Thompson's favorability numbers are high for the time being but he has not been battle tested or put under the microscope."
Said survey respondent Samir Hanna, 19, an Oakland University student who considers himself an undecided conservative voter: "I haven't heard that much about the Republican candidates yet, but from what I have heard I'm disappointed. Most of the Republicans in the race, I don't even know why people say they're Republicans. They're as liberal as the Democrats."
Hanna of Shelby Township said the only thing he knows about Thompson is "he's on the 'Law and Order' TV show."
Fahr of New Baltimore said about Thompson: "I know everybody is hot on him but I don't think anybody knows enough about him. If you said the name Fred Thompson to people, they wouldn't know who you were talking about. But if you said the guy on 'Law and Order,' people would say 'oh, yeah.'"
Voters aren't responding to Thompson's positions on issues because they don't yet know where he stands, Fahr said.
Primaries far from settled
In the Democratic primary, Gore edges Clinton among female voters by a 36-33 margin. Gore also leads among men by an even narrower amount, 34-32.
Clinton has an 83 percent favorable rating among Democrats, followed by Obama, 78 percent; Gore, 76 percent; and Edwards, 72 percent. The poll's margin of error is 5 percentage points.
In the GOP primary, Thompson gets a favorable rating from 50 percent of voters, while his unfavorable rating is low at 7 percent. Gingrich gets an unfavorable mark from 30 percent of his own party in Michigan. In the GOP primary, Thompson wins 29 percent of the male vote compared to 19 percent for Gingrich. Giuliani is favored by 25 percent of women, followed by McCain and Romney at 16 percent.
Survey participant Jim Brackett, an audio engineer of Royal Oak, said the two strongest candidates are Giuliani and Romney.
He added Republicans have an uphill battle.
"Michigan is preoccupied with economic issues because the auto industry is in such an upheaval. That plays well into the hands of any Democratic candidate," he said. "Bush's position on terrorism and Iraq is sound, but he's been a fool and a huge disappointment in how he has executed the war."
While Michigan voters are hoping the fields aren't yet complete, the state's primaries are far from settled. It's still unclear whether the elections will be held in January or February, whether the parties will vote on the same day and whether they'll be open primaries, or closed caucuses and a state convention.
Legislation that could come up for a vote in the state Senate next week would provide for semi-closed primaries on either Jan. 29 or Feb. 5. In a semi-closed primary, voters would have to request a Republican or Democratic ballot.
You can reach Mark Hornbeck at (313) 222-2470 or
mhornbeck@detnews.com.
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