In the first real poll in the race for 15th Congressional seat in the U.S. House, the dean of the House, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, has a very large 19 point lead over the challenger.
In a Detroit News/Local 4 WDIV poll, Dingell has a 49-30 percent lead over teabagger Rob Steele. Last month Steele paid for a push poll by the Republican polling and lobbying firm Public Opinion Strategies (PSO) that had him down by only nine points, by a count of 51-42. Like I said then, the real numbers were probably double that, and I was correct.
Still, Steele had to find a way to spin this huge deficit after shouting about his paid for 9 percent sham, and that is that “a congressman in office for 55 years is polling at less than 50 percent.” The fact is the number is 49.3 percent, and if Steele wants to spend his fortune made via the broken health care system on .7 percent I say go for it. His huge ego will not allow him to do otherwise.
On his Facebook page, Steele is also spinning it like this, “Only 42.5% would re-elect John Dingell. The people are clearly ready for new leadership.” I'm not sure where he got that number. The fact is the poll does have a warning sign for Dingell: “Nearly 61 percent of independent voters believe it's time for someone new in the 15th District.”
The good news independent voters are a minority in the 15th District. If there is new leadership in the 115th District, it will not be Steele, and it will not be this election.
Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, a nonpartisan newsletter. Put it in proper perspective when he said “the poll shows what he would have expected: the 15th District is "not as close as the Republicans would like you to believe.”
Steele can hold lots more $1,000 a plate fundraisers like he’s holding at an Ann Arbor Country club this week, and that’s just less money going to races where Republicans have a real chance.
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