LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder is beginning to regain some of the support he lost after signing right-to-work legislation last year, but he is still within striking distance for expected Democratic challenger Mark Schauer, a poll released Wednesday by Lambert, Edwards and Associates and Denno Research shows.

Snyder had a 44 percent favorable rating in the poll, compared to 38 percent in late February. His unfavorable rating dropped to 40 percent from 44 percent in the prior poll.

But still only 43 percent said they would currently vote to re-elect Mr. Snyder, compared to 37 percent who would vote for Schauer.

That came as Schauer still only has statewide name recognition of 24 percent.

Schauer also had not made much of impression on voters yet. His favorable/unfavorable ratings were 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Snyder could be gaining some ground from recent events, the poll showed. Some 53 percent saw the Detroit bankruptcy filing as a positive move for the city, and only 38 percent said Snyder’s support of Medicaid expansion made him a less attractive candidate. That percentage taking a negative view of his Medicaid expansion held for Republican voters as well (37 percent), while 37 percent of GOP voters also said it would make them more likely to support him at the polls.

“Voters see that Governor Snyder isn’t afraid to make tough decisions,” said Dennis Denno, president of Denno Research. “While not everyone may agree with those decisions, he hasn’t shied away from making those calls, and that could very well be helping his polling numbers.”

Jeff Lambert, president and managing partner at Lambert, Edwards, said Schauer would have to work harder to differentiate himself.

“Mark Schauer and the Democrats clearly have some work to do if they’re going to be able to capitalize on voters who feel ambivalent about Snyder,” Lambert said. “In order to be successful in 2014, it’s not going to be enough for Schauer to simply say, ‘Anyone But Snyder.’ He needs to develop his own narrative and plans for Michigan’s future.”

The poll was conducted July 23-24 of 600 people with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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