A new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) finds the Michigan GOP Senate candidate, Terri Land, taking the lead over Democrat Rep. Gary Peters in the race to replace retiring Sen. Carl Levin. Land trailed Peters by 7 points in October, at the height of the government shutdown. She now leads Peters by two, 42-40, a nine point swing in less than two months.
“The declining popularity of President Obama and the Affordable Care Act seems to be making life harder for Democrats here, as we’re finding in other key Senate races,” the Democrat polling firm writes in a memo. Although Obama won Michigan by 9 points last year, his approval ratings are now underwater. Just 47% of Michiganders approve of the job he is doing, while 51% disapprove. Michigan voters also oppose ObamaCare by a 14-point margin.
The big shift in the Michigan race is due largely to Independents. A few months ago, Land and Peters were basically tied among Independents. In the latest poll, Land has opened a massive 17-point lead with the critical voting block.
Peters will have a very hard time running away from ObamaCare. In March, he issued a press release trumpeting the 3rd anniversary of the law’s passage and claiming the law was “already helping Michiganders.”
“In the three years since the Affordable Care Act became law, thousands of Michigan families have benefitted from increased and improved health care coverage,” Peters says in the release. “Making investments in the health of our families is vital to improving our local economy while ensuring a brighter future for Michigan, that’s why we must work together to keep moving forward.”
It may be the most regretted press release in history.
GOP plans to take control of the Senate next year didn’t really count on Michigan being competitive. If ObamaCare is putting the Wolverine State into play, a host of other states may be within reach of the GOP.