Exclusive New WDIV/The Detroit News Poll: Gary Peters leads Terri Lynn Land; Gov. Snyder ahead of Mark Schauer

DETROIT, May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Democratic congressman Gary Peters leads Republican candidate Terri Lynn Land by slight margin of 4.3% according to a WDIV-Local 4/The Detroit News exclusive statewide opinion poll released today.

"One month ago, the U.S. Senate race was dead even -- among men and women.  Today while men are equally divided between Gary Peters and Terri Lynn Land, Peters holds an eight point lead among women giving him a four point lead," said Richard Czuba, President of Glengariff Group, Inc. 

More than half of Michigan voters approve of the job Governor Rick Snyder is doing which seems to be helping his campaign to keep his job.

The race for governor has incumbent Governor Snyder facing presumptive Democratic challenger Mark Schauer in the November General Election. Governor Snyder leads Schauer 45.0% to 35.2%, which is a difference of 9.8% in favor of Governor Snyder.  18.1% of voters are undecided.

Also according to the poll, Schauer only has 57.8% of name identification with likely voters.

"Governor Snyder continues to build a steady lead among voters by strongly solidifying his Republican base and holding a 2-1 lead among Independent voters.  Mark Schauer has work to do to nail down his own base of Democratic voters where a third of those voters don't recognize his name," said Czuba.

Among Definite Voters, Governor Snyder holds an even larger lead of 46.6% to 33.0% -- a margin of 13.6%.  18.6% of Definite Voters remain undecided.

By a margin of 45.3% to 40.8%, Michigan voters believe the state is on the right track.  In the response of whether things have gotten better in the past four years, 43% of Michigan voters said yes.

"These numbers represent a significant shift among Michigan voters in their assessment of the state," said Czuba.

The results are somewhat divided among party lines.

Engagement in the election reflects whether voters believe the state is on the right or wrong track.

Michigan voters were less positive about the direction of the nation, with 58.3% stating that they believe the country is on the wrong track, compared to 27.7% who feel positive about the direction of the nation. Opinions about President Barack Obama were nearly split, with 47.5% of Michigan voters leaning unfavorable compared to a favorable opinion at 42.2%

Voters were asked in an open-ended question about the biggest problem currently facing Michigan.  Only two issues rose into double digits:  35.8% Jobs/Economy/Unemployment and 16.2% Transportation/Roads.

The survey of 600 likely Michigan November General Election voters was conducted by the Glengariff Group, Inc. and commissioned by WDIV-Local 4 and The Detroit News. The survey was conducted May 20-22, 2014.

To get the raw data numbers please go to ClickOnDetroit.com after 11:15 p.m. tonight

About WDIV-Local 4

Local 4 News is currently the #1 newscast at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, and 11pm in Nielsen ratings for the Detroit television market, and Local 4 News at 11pm is the highest-rated newscast of all NBC affiliates in the top 11 markets nationwide.  In addition, Local 4's ClickOnDetroit.com is the leading breaking news and weather website in Michigan and Detroit's number one local media website.

About Post-Newsweek Stations

Post-Newsweek Stations is owned by Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), a diversified education and media company.  Post-Newsweek Stations owns and operates six television stations:  WDIV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit; KPRC, the NBC affiliate in Houston; WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami; WKMG, the CBS affiliate in Orlando; KSAT, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio; and WJXT, an independent in Jacksonville.  

SOURCE WDIV-Local 4