Republican Dick DeVos

After months of slowly climbing in the polls, Republican Dick DeVos now leads incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) 48% to 43% (see crosstabs).  Granholm had a very slight edge in last month’s survey 44% to 42%.

Though the polls have been close since February, this is the first Rasmussen Reports election poll in which Granholm has fallen behind.

Michigan normally leans to Democrats, and incumbents usually have a big advantage when seeking re-election, but the state’s economy continues to drag down this particular Democratic incumbent. Thirty percent (30%) of the state’s workers are worried about losing their job. That’s far higher than concern measured in any other state.

Additionally, efforts by the DeVos campaign to build awareness of the candidate have apparently been paying off:  DeVos is pulling support from 86% of GOP voters and 16% of Democrats.  Granholm can claim 78% support from Democrats and only 8% crossover appeal among Republican voters.

According to campaign finance reports filed last week, DeVos reports raising $15.3 million during the period running from January 1-July 23, 2006.  Over the course of the entire election cycle thus far, the challenger reports raising $17.1 million, with nearly $13 million coming from his own pockets.

The Granholm campaign reports $3.3 million raised during the reporting period and $10.7 million since the beginning of the election cycle.  Though Granhom currently has more cash on hand than her challenger—$7.2 million versus $1.1 million—DeVos has seemingly bottomless coffers to self-finance his campaign.

Twenty-four percent (24%) of Michigan voters now report strong approval of Granholm’s job performance while 21% strongly disapprove. Those numbers represent a modest improvement for the incumbent over the past month.

Crosstabs are available to Premium Members.

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Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.