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Michigan Freepers, I look forward to your comments.

Folks, I look forward to your feedback on Dick Devos and his performance this evening.

EAST LANSING - Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican challenger Dick DeVos jostled over jobs and taxes, stem cell research and public safety in the first of three televised debates. With the election barely five weeks away, the 60-minute showdown offered voters clear contrasts as they focus on who should lead the state for the next four years. Polls show it is a very close race. DeVos offered Michigan's highest-in-the-nation jobless rate as evidence of the need for change. "The atmosphere is clearly not here for job creation. That's why we need leadership," he said. Granholm said the state has...

OAKLAND COUNTY -- First Lady Laura Bush was in Michigan Thursday stumping for the Republican candidate for governor and pushing some of her own initiatives. Thursday marked the first time during Republican candidate Dick DeVos's campaign in which he appeared with a major member of the administration. When President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney came to Michigan for fundraisers helping GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike Bouchard, DeVos was nowhere to be found. DeVos spokesman John Truscott said DeVos already had commitments when the president and vice president announced they were coming to Michigan. But Democrats say it's clear the...

A new, exclusive News Ten survey is out tonight with Governor Jennifer Granholm widening her lead over Republican challenger Dick DeVos. Fifty-percent of the people surveyed in the Epic-MRA poll said they will vote for the incumbent, while 42 percent say will vote for DeVos. The last News Ten poll in July showed Granholm leading with only three-percentage points, making the race a statistical dead heat. When it comes to Michigan's slow economy, President Bush gets more blame. 44 percent of voters polled say they blame the President, while only 28 percent point at Granholm. In the race for US...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos says he thinks Michigan's science curriculum should include a discussion about intelligent design. He says teaching intelligent design along with evolution would help students discern the facts among different theories. He'd like to see local school districts be able to teach intelligent design if they choose to, although he wouldn't require that it be taught in science classes. "I would like to see the ideas of intelligent design that many scientists are now suggesting is a very viable alternative theory," DeVos told The Associated Press this week during an interview on education. "That theory and...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos on Friday won the endorsement of the Michigan Farm Bureau after pledging to cut property taxes on farmland and support an immigration policy that protects the needs of agriculture. "Dick DeVos' business expertise and his support of small businesses was a common theme among the recommendations received from county Farm Bureaus" that weighed in on the endorsement, said Andrew Hagenow, chairman of the Farm Bureau's political action committee, AgriPac. "People sometimes forget that agriculture, at its core, is not simply a way of life, it's a business much the same as other industries in Michigan,"...

GRAND RAPIDS -- The latest EPIC-MRA poll, released just 54 days before the November 7 general election, shows statewide incumbents are holding the lead. The poll, exclusive to 24 Hour News 8 and our media partners, sampled 600 people between September 7 -12, and includes a margin of error of 4 percent. Governor Jennifer Granholm holds an 8-point lead, 50-42, over Republican nominee Dick DeVos. It's the second consecutive poll Granholm has held a lead bigger than margin of error. In the previous poll, Granholm led 49-42. In the race for the US Senate, incumbent Debbie Stabenow has opened a...

Governor Granholm and her attack crew are using blatant lies and distortion on Dick's record as a Michigan jobs maker. Every product made in China, stays in China. In order to sell Michigan made products in China, Dick was required to open a plant in China by Chinese law. Dick got into the Chinese market in early 1995; layoffs did not occur until 1998. There is NO connection between China and the layoffs. In fact, 400 jobs are here in Michigan to support the Alticor sales effort in China. By Selling Michigan-made Products around the World, Dick Saved the Company...

LANSING -- Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm raised $3.3 million in the first half of 2006. Republican challenger Dick DeVos nearly matched that in a single day when, on June 19, he wrote a $3 million check to his campaign.In 12 months, DeVos has poured nearly $13 million of his own money into a gubernatorial campaign that has blanketed Michigan TV channels with ads since February. That's $2 million more than Granholm has collected in more than three and a half years of aggressive fundraising since she took office.So far this year, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday, DeVos has...

After months of slowly climbing in the polls, Republican Dick DeVos now leads incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) 48% to 42% (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...

Gubernatorial Race: DeVos (R) 48 Granholm (D-inc.) 44 Senate Race: Stabenow (D-inc.) 53 Bouchard (R) 36 Stabenow (D-inc.) 53 Butler (R) 33 In the primary: Bouchard 43 Butler 37 Undecided 20 Other numbers: Granholm has a negative five percent approval spread. Stabenow's is positive 13 percent.

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan's unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.3 percent in June, state officials said Wednesday. That's up from the 6.0 percent seasonally adjusted rate in May. Michigan's unemployment rate remains above the national average, which was 4.6 percent in June. The change in the state's jobless rate was "relatively minor," according to Rick Waclawek, director of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth's Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. The size of the state's labor force increased by 23,000 in June. About 10,000 more people were counted as employed and 13,000 more were counted as unemployed...

In July 2004, freshman Gov. Jennifer Granholm was in such demand for interviews at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, she even turned down star ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings. She was toasted as a bright new hope, chosen for a prime-time speech. Admirers were disappointed to learn she was born in Canada and therefore can never run for president. Two years later, Granholm's rising star has been yanked to Earth by a lagging Michigan economy. Polls show her virtually tied with Republican challenger Dick DeVos, whose unprecedented TV ad campaign so far has cost an estimated $7 million. Meanwhile,...

Dick DeVos Picks Up Lead in Michigan Republican businessman Dick DeVos has increased his lead over Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm in the race for governor of Michigan, a new poll reveals. In the poll of 1,200 likely Michigan voters by Strategic Vision, LLC, DeVos led 48 percent to 41 percent, with 11 percent undecided. A poll in late May had DeVos – scion of one of Michigan’s wealthiest families – ahead 45 percent to 42 percent. Another poll in early May had the two deadlocked. "DeVos increased his lead significantly over the past month and Granholm lost some support,” said...

For the first time in modern Michigan political history, a sitting governor is behind her challenger. The latest EPIC-MRA survey commissioned by WILX News 10 shows Republican DeVos with 48 percent and Democratic Incumbent Granholm trails with 40 percent. In addition, the exclusive poll results show that the number of voters willing to reelect the governor has fallen to 30 percent while the rest of the voters surveyed want somebody else. In fairness, this survey was completed before the first batch of pro-Granholm commercials hit the air waves and she is expected to pick up some points from that, but...

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LANSING - A new poll released today by Strategic Vision shows Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos with a three- point lead over Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm. The poll shows DeVos leading Granholm, 45-42 percent, with 13 percent undecided. Respondents in the poll said they were dissatisfied with her job performance by a margin of 44-41, and by an overwhelming 61-28 margin said they believed Michigan is on the wrong track. The poll revealed Senator Debbie Stabenow is leading each of her three Republican challengers in head-to-head match-ups. In other areas, 62 percent of respondents disapproved of President Bush's job performance....

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