THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR

We remind ourselves that any political polling in advance of the April filing deadline can be wishful thinking at best, and this would apply to the most recent taking of the temperature in a three-way contest for governor where 12 percent of those polled are still undecided. That said, the late February poll by the reliable pollster Richard Czuba of the Glengariff Group for the Detroit Regional Chamber is no doubt good news for independent candidate Mike Duggan, former Mayor of Detroit. The Glengariff poll focused on what some prognosticators say are the three candidates assumed to most likely to be in the general election – Duggan, Republican Congressman John James and Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State. We’re not sure we are ready to buy into that logic just yet, at least on the Republican side where a half dozen other candidates have announced they are running. There’s Oakland businessman Perry Johnson, with his millions of personal funding (yes, money does talk), and former attorney general Mike Cox, who has loaned his campaign several million dollars. The Glengariff Group poll shows a near dead heat when you look at just the three candidates. Duggan came in at 30.1 percent; James at 28.9 percent; and Benson at 28.8 percent. Nearly half (49 percent) of those favoring Duggan identify as Democrats, giving credence to the concern in that political party that it is likely to be impacted by the independent candidate, assuming Democrats are willing to scrap straight ticket voting. As an interesting side note, 13.5 percent of the 600 people polled by Czuba were Black, mirroring the overall population makeup in the state. When the poll drilled down on this segment, Duggan was backed by 59.3 percent, and Benson polled at 25.9 percent. As for Black candidate James, he came in at zero, fueling even further those who maintain that his popularity is more smoke than substance.

Jocelyn Benson

John James

Mike Duggan