Romney, Huckabee, and Palin lead pack of candidates; Hoekstra is US Senate GOP frontrunner; Snyder job approval and State of the State reaction very positive; Holland MI similar to New Hampshire on Genesis Code Issue of Faith vs Science

Grand Rapids, Mich. – A newly released poll of Michigan voters shows Gov. Mitt Romney with a lead amongst Republican and Independent voters in the race for GOP delegates.  The same poll also shows former Congressman and Gubenatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra with a big head start on his potential competition for the GOP US Senate nomination in 2012.

Gov. Romney finished first, with 24% of the respondents naming him their first choice.  Suprisingly, Gov. Mike Huckabee came in second, with nearly 19% support, finishing ahead of Gov. Sarah Palin who had 17% support among Primary voters.  Also included in the poll were Speaker Newt Gingrich, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Gov. Jon Huntsman, Gov. Haley Barbour, and Sen. Rick Santorum.

“Governor Romney has an early lead as the “native son” and winner of Michigan in 2008”, said John Yob, CEO of Strategic National.  “Governor Huckabee and Governor Palin are a remarkably close 2nd and 3rd.”

In the Michigan Republican US Senate Primary, former Congressman and Gubenatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra had a sizeable advantage over his potential rivals.  Hoekstra was supported by nearly 33% of Primary voters while former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land came in second with 15% of respondents.  Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis and Oakland County businessman Tim Leuliette were also included in the poll but both lagged behind at 1%.

“Pete Hoekstra would start the race as the frontrunner with Land a relatively strong 2nd,” said John Yob.  “They would be very hard to beat if the two of them united.”

“Saul Anuzis and Tim Leuliette start the campaign from a difficult position but of course anything is possible if you have the money to communicate your message,” Yob continued.

Strategic National also polled new Governor Rick Snyder’s favorability rating, as well as some of the ideas he proposed and questions he asked in his first State of the State.

“The Governor’s job approval rating is a strong 3 to 1, with a positive margin of 23%,” said Yob.  “Approximately half the people don’t yet have an opinion of his job performance, which isn’t surprising given he has been on the job for less than a month.”

“We found several interesting pieces of information in asking questions about Governor Snyder’s performance early in his administration,” continued Yob.  “Voters are in favor of his proposals for a new bridge connecting Detroit with Canada and lowering the compensation of public employees.”

Thus, Michigan residents believe the State has a long way to go, ranking Michigan as “below average” in all Dashboard categories except Public Safety, which achieved an “average” rating.

 “Voters view Michigan at or below average in every major indicator tracked on the Dashboard,” said Yob.  “We will continue to track these numbers every month to show how citizens view the progress of the state.”

John Yob ran national political operations for John McCain in the Presidential Primaries in 2008, served as Senior Advisor for Rick Snyder in Michigan, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and General Consultant for Terri Lynn Land’s campaigns for Secretary of State in 2002 and 2006.

Strategic National surveyed a random sample of Michigan voters.  The statewide, automated poll had a total of 510 respondents, 52% female and 48% male, 37% Democrat, 34% Republican, and 29% Independent.  It was conducted January 24- 25, 2011, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4% 

The GOP Primary survey had a total of 480 respondents, 50% female and 50% male, and a margin of error of +/- 4.5%.

Questions and Results:

If the 2012 Republican primary for President were held today would you support Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Jon Huntsman, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, or are you undecided?

Do you support lowering public employee pay as part of a plan to balance the state budget?

Governor Rick Snyder proposed a Michigan Dashboard in his state of the state address.  Governor Snyder is going to evaluate Michigan's success based on 5 key factors.  On a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being the worst, 5 being average, 9 being the best, how well do you think Michigan performs on the following items?

*Note:  Not all categories sum to 100.0% due to rounding.

The Genesis Code movie is set to release in theaters nationwide in the coming weeks, and Grand Rapids and Holland on February 11th. 

One of the main concepts of the movie is that science and the Biblical story of creation can co-exist, while affirming Biblical accuracy.  Voters of Holland MI were asked whether they thought that science and religion were in conflict.

The table at right reflects the opinions of Republican voters in three geographical areas in which the question below was asked within the last two weeks:

Do you believe that science and the Biblical story of creation are in conflict?

The numbers reinforce the perception that Republicans in Holland, MI are looking for a solution that reconciles modern day science with faith.  Only 32% of Holland area Republicans believe that science and the Biblical story of creation are in conflict, a full 10% less than Iowa, and 7% less than New Hampshire.  Nearly 68% either believe they are not in conflict, or they are not certain, compared with 61% in New Hampshire and 58% in Iowa.

With the Genesis Code movie set to address this conflict in a positive, Biblically affirming way, residents of West Michigan are prepared for the message the movie offers.

The Iowa poll was conducted on January 18, 2011, the New Hampshire poll was conducted on January 19, 2011, and the Holland poll was conducted on January 20, 2011.