Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has opened up a 14 point lead in a new Public Policy Polling (D) survey of her potential re-election after her likely rival, Rep. Pete Koekstra (R-MI) ran an offsenive ad featuring an asian woman speaking in broken english during the Super Bowl. Hoekstra is now viewed less favorably by Michigan voters, and the fourteen point lead was built from a single digit advantage that PPP found during the sumer. The current topline is Stabenow 51, Hoekstra 37.
Hoekstra appears to have been damaged by his controversial Super Bowl ad. 54% of voters in the state were familiar with it, and within that group 45% said it made them less likely to vote for him compared to only 16% who considered it a positive and 37% who said it didn’t make a difference to them either way. Independents said they were turned off by it and he’s gone from leading with them by 6 points in July to now trailing by 4 points.
The TPM Poll Average shows Stabenow with a healthy lead in Michigan.
