Sunday, May 11, 2008

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Carl Levin has served in the United States Senate for 30 years and the first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of his re-election bid suggest he’s likely to keep his job. Levin leads Republican state legislator Jack Hoogendyk by a 54% to 37% margin.

Levin has won each of his last three re-election bids with 58% to 60% of the vote. He has not faced a serious election threat since 1984.

The candidates are essentially even among men but Levin has a huge, 30-percentage point, lead among women. Levin is strongest among voters over 50. Rasmussen Markets data suggests that Levin has a % chance to win re-election this year.

The Presidential race in Michigan is much more competitive.

Levin is viewed favorably by 55% of the state’s voters and unfavorably by 39%. Those figures include 27% with a Very Favorable opinion and 24% with a Very Unfavorable view.

For Hoogendyk, the numbers are 39% favorable and 36% unfavorable. Twenty-four percent (24%) have no opinion. Just 7% have a Very Favorable opinion of the GOP hopeful while 19% have a Very Unfavorable opinion.

This fall, Michigan voters will also vote on whether to approve the medical use of marijuana under doctor’s supervision. Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters favor that proposal while 28% are opposed. A plurality of Evangelical Christians oppose the measure, but voters with other faith and religious preferences favor it.

Term limits have been an issue in Michigan since 1992 when voters imposed strict limits on state legislators and other elected officials. Since then, the state’s politicians have made several attempts to overturn or weaken those limits.

Just 31% of voters would like to see term limits repealed. Sixty-three percent (63%) would vote to keep the limits in place. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Republicans would vote to keep the term limits along with 59% of Democrats and 65% of unaffiliated voters.

The survey was conducted in partnership with Fox Television Stations, Inc.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available for Premium Members only.