Dems slipping in state races

WASHINGTON — The political landscape has gotten friendlier for congressional Democrats over the past six months, but the party's prospects for scoring big gains in governors' races now look more difficult.

In some cases, the same concerns that are costing congressional Republicans — and raising Democrats' hopes of gaining control of the House or Senate — are hurting Democratic governors in November's races.

'COMPETITIVE' RACES: Some contests too close to call

In Michigan, Gov. Jennifer Granholm — the darling of Democrats when she was elected in 2002 — is now in a dead heat with Republican challenger Dick DeVos. A statewide poll last month by EPIC-MRA put him at 46%, her at 45%. Last fall, she had held a 23-point lead.

"Michiganders are furious at life, so they're furious at the governor," says Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. DeVos, former president of Amway, has been airing TV ads since February that tap voters' discontent over the state's direction and its battered economy. The state has the nation's second-highest unemployment rate, after Mississippi.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is increasingly vulnerable, in part because of ethics controversies in his administration. In a statewide Strategic Vision poll in April, Doyle was at 45%; U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican hopeful, was at 43%.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-06-11-dems-state-races_x.htm

:(

RW legislature! damm.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is increasingly vulnerable, in part because of ethics controversies in his administration. In a statewide Strategic Vision poll in April, Doyle was at 45%; U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican hopeful, was at 43%.

this isn't a new development. I agree that MI will not be easy for dems, but after Nov, dems will have a majority of the governorships.

I think the Dems will have the upper hand.

and tried to sell off the great lakes to other states as well as to oil companies. Or how he cut welfare and gave big business the tax dollars that were "saved" at the expense of the home owners. Also don't forget how he "fixed" I-69 for a photo op then after they got the pics they had to tear the part of 69 back up that was used for the photo op because the road wasn't safe to put traffic on. Or how he sold michigans wild life to hunting clubs for canned hunts. Devos will not "fix" michigan as you notice in his ads, he "saved " 100 jobs, but failed to mention Fords closing its michigan plants next year and Kalamazoo just lost 500 jobs due to down sizing. Of course thats all Granholmes fault.

Those 500 jobs had nothing to do with Granholm, but rather the lousy overall economy (I blame Bu$h) and big business trying to satisfy stockholders.

Right on the money. DeVos's claim to have "saved" 100 jobs is a joke. The guy personally helped ship hundreds of jobs to China when he start outsourcing at his own company. It's hard to see a guy as a job "creator" when he's done just the opposite in his business dealings.

Luckily, his opponent was trained by Gov. Ryan, now convicted of multiple crimes.

Judy Barr Topinka is even worse than Bloggo, but at least her eye is on the gov-ship, not a presidency.
Bloggo may still get indicted while in office for selling positions for $40K campaign donations.

and they sight ethics issues, which only makes sense

Could things be better? Sure, but not to the point that i'm furious.

much of the 'leads' people talk about over potential challengers come at a time when 20-30% of respondents don't know who the challenger is, and don't want to make an ass out of themselves by giving an answer.

by the way, michigan and wisconsin have become two states narrowly won by us over the last few years; Dean's 50 state strategy will probably put a halt to the backslide, though.

Make the campaign a referendum on Amway and its cultish tendencies. Tie DeVos to people like Dexter Yaeger and the rest of those nuts. Granholm is running against the titular head of a cult. Really, how hard can it be?