Detroit, MI – A new poll released Thursday shows Chief James Craig, Republican candidate for governor, tied with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at 46%. The poll also revealed that Chief Craig performs the best against Whitmer among the Republican primary field.
Craig received 46.1% support from respondents and Gov. Whitmer received 46% support.
The polling results indicate that Whitmer is barely above water and remains extremely vulnerable. Whitmer is 12 points underwater among independents, with 42% viewing her favorably and 54% unfavorably. Craig has a +11 positive rating among independents, with 28% viewing him favorably and 18% unfavorably.
The poll confirms that Craig is the ONLY viable option to defeat Whitmer and continues to strongly outperform his Republican primary opponents in a head-to-head matchup with Whitmer. While the Chief is tied with Whitmer, Garrett Soldano trails by 7%, Kevin Rinke trails by 7% and Tudor Dixon trails by 10%.
Craig outperforms Whitmer with independent voters by a 17% margin, 51% to 34%. No other Republican candidate hits above 42% with independents.
In the head-to-head matchup vs. Whitmer, Craig is best positioned to win the remaining undecided voters, with a +1 favorable image, compared to Whitmer, who is viewed unfavorably by 3 out of 5 undecided voters.
The new poll comes at the same time a Detroit News/WDIV poll released shows that just 40% of likely voters plan to re-elect Whitmer. The Detroit News/WDIV poll also shows that 48% of Michiganders feel the state is headed down the wrong track, while just 36% feel it’s heading in the right track. The two polls demonstrate the continued strength of Craig and that he is best positioned to defeat Whitmer.
The new poll was conducted by ARW Strategies via a telephone survey of 800 general election voters statewide January 4 – 6, 2022. The margin of error is +/- 3.46%. Andrew Weissert, founder of ARW Strategies, formerly worked as Chief Pollster with We Ask America, polling for members of Congress, state legislators, political action committees, trade associations and corporate clients. He also oversaw all data, analytics, strategic initiatives and in-house survey research for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and his political operation.