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Poll: Where Michigan voters stand on attorney general, secretary of state races

Survey finds Democratic incumbents still polling ahead

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaks at a news conference on Dec. 12, 2019. (WDIV)

Democratic incumbents for the offices of Michigan Attorney General and Michigan Secretary of State continue to hold leads against their Republican opponents, according to a new WDIV/Detroit News poll.

A new survey, conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, found that both current Michigan AG Dana Nessel and current Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson are still polling ahead of candidates running against them, as they did a few months ago.

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Related: Poll: Where Michigan voters stand on governor candidates, abortion

Here are some of the key findings from this portion of the survey:

Nessel leads in AG race

  • Democrat Nessel leads GOP opponent Matt DePerno by 6 points as of September. She held the same lead in a July survey.
  • 20.9% of voters who have heard of Nessel view her favorably, while 15.9% of voters who know of her view her unfavorably. 19.4% of voters had no opinion of Nessel.
    • 43.2% of voters have not heard of Nessel.
  • 5.5% of voters who have heard of DePerno view him favorably, while 5.1% view him unfavorably. 14.4% of voters had no opinion of DePerno.
    • 73.8% of voters have not heard of Deperno.
  • Nessel leads among “strong Democratic” and leaning Democratic voters, and a portion (24.2%) of Independent voters.
    • 47.7% of Independent voters were still undecided in this race.

Benson leads in SOS race

  • Democrat Benson leads GOP opponent Kristina Karamo by 10.9 points, a 3-point increase from a July survey.
  • Of the 58.5% of Michigan voters who have heard of Benson, 25.5% view her favorably, while 11.3% view her unfavorably. 22% of voters had no opinion of Benson.
    • 40.7% of voters have not heard of Benson.
  • Of the 26.2% of voters who have heard of Karamo, 5.3% view her favorably, and 5.3% view her unfavorably. 15.6% of voters had no opinion of Karamo.
    • 72.8% of voters have never heard of Karamo.
  • Benson leads most among “strong Democratic” and leaning Democratic voters, but also secures 33.6% of Independent voters, the poll shows.
    • 39.8% of Independent voters were still undecided in this race.

Methodology

The Glengariff Group, Inc. conducted a Michigan statewide survey of November 2022 likely general election voters. The 600 sample, live operator telephone survey was conducted on August 29-September 1, 2022 and has a margin of error of +/-4.0% with a 95% level of confidence. 28.0% of respondents were contacted via landline telephone. 72.0% of respondents were contacted via cell phone telephone. This survey was commissioned by WDIV Local 4 News and the Detroit News.


See the poll results from July right here to compare.


About the Author
Cassidy Johncox headshot

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.

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