DETROIT – A new poll conducted for several media outlets shows the race for governor is a dead heat, with Republican Governor Rick Snyder leading Democrat Mark Schauer by just 2 percentage points.

The poll, by the Lansing firm of EPIC/MRA, shows a much tighter race than two other polls released earlier this week that showed Snyder leading Schauer by 5 percentage points.

The head of the polling company suggested Schauer’s and the Democratic Governors Association advertising hitting Snyder for business tax cuts and taxes on pensioners may be more effective than Snyder’s more optimistic ads.

Bernie Porn, in comments to the Detroit Free Press, also said the tight race is being affected by absentee ballots, particularly the Democratic Party’s major absentee effort.

The poll shows Snyder supported by 45 percent of those questioned with Schauer getting support from 43 percent. Third party candidates had 3 percent support and the undecided or don’t know total was 9 percent.

Porn also said that the partisan breakdown of the undecided voters heavily leans towards Democrats.

The poll was conducted of 600 likely voters October 26-28. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In the last poll conducted by EPIC/MRA for the Detroit Free Press, WXYZ, WOOD, WJRT and WJIM television – just nine days earlier – Snyder was leading Schauer by 8 percentage points.

Democrats have put an enormous effort into generating absentee voters, sending out 1 million applications.

But Republicans say they too have been pushing absentee ballots.

The poll, Porn told the Free Press, shows Snyder leading in Oakland and Macomb counties (traditionally, a Republican has not won statewide without winning Oakland County) but trailing in Wayne County. Snyder also has a big lead, by 10 percentage points, with men, but is behind with women by 5 percentage points, he said.

The poll concluded just as Snyder and the Republican Governors Association began new ads that warn voters of returning a Democrat to office. Snyder’s ad does not mention Schauer, but the RGA ad blasts Schauer for supporting a series of tax increases.

The survey also shows the Democratic senatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, blowing out the Republican, Terri Land, by a 50 percent to 35 percent margin. That spread is in line with every other poll showing Peters running away with the race.

Additionally, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette led Democratic challenger Mark Totten, 47 percent to 35 percent. And Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson led Democrat Godfrey Dillard, 41 percent to 37 percent.

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