LANSING – Who Michigan voters want to pick for governor in 19 months appears to be pretty open, but a new poll out Friday shows Republican primary voters favor Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, while Democratic primary voters like Lt. Governor John Cherry.

The poll, conducted by Marketing Research Group for Inside Michigan Politics, surveyed 600 Michigan registered voters from March 4-10.

With five Republicans declaring their bid for the post or saying they are exploring that option, the poll pitted Mr. Patterson against U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Holland), Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo).

In the five-way race, Patterson received 22 percent of support, followed by Hoekstra at 17 percent.

Cox netted 15 percent backing, with Land following at 12 percent.,

George netted just 2 percent support from those surveyed.

The poll found strong support for Patterson in his neck of the woods, metro Detroit. Cox, who hails from southeast Michigan also, did well among voters in Lansing and the Flint, Saginaw, Bay City area.

Hoekstra gained favor from voters in West Michigan and Traverse City. The poll said that might be cutting into Land’s home network of support, which is based out of Grand Rapids.

However, 32 percent of GOP primary voters were undecided on the contest.

That portion of the population was more prevalent among Democratic primary voters, with 57 percent saying they didn’t know for whom they would vote.

Cherry is the only announced candidate for the Democrats, so the poll pitted him against possible rivals House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.), First Gentleman Dan Mulhern and former Michigan State University football coach (and current university trustee) George Perles.

Out of that match-up, Cherry netted 26 percent of voter support, followed by Mulhern with 10 percent.

Perles received 4 percent of the vote, followed by Dillon at 3 percent.

Geographically, Cherry did well in his hometown community of Flint. The poll noted Perles received no support from voters in the Lansing area.

As for general election match-ups, Cherry lost out to Patterson, Cox and Land, according to the poll.

Cox had the biggest lead, 41 percent to 34 percent; Land was second in the lead with 39 percent to 34 percent. Mr. Patterson beat Cherry in the two-way race 38 percent to 34 percent.

“Republicans haven’t won many statewide races in the past decade but Lt. Governor Cherry may have a tough time shaking the negative effects of serving as lieutenant governor during eight tough economic years,” said MRG President Tom Shields. “While we are still 19 months away from the 2010 elections, the race for governor is shaping up as a real battle.”

Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the survey by 6 percent and the general election poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent.

The margin of error for the GOP primary portion was 5.7 percent, while the margin of error for the Democratic primary portion was 5.8 percent.

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