LANSING – Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Gary Peters is now favored by registered Michigan voters by 5 percentage points, a new poll released Tuesday by Public Policy Polling showed.

The latest poll on the Michigan race to succeed outgoing U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) shows Peters (D-Bloomfield Township), a U.S. House member, has taken the lead over Land, the former secretary of state, a change from the company’s last poll.

In December, a PPP poll showed that Land had a 2 percentage point lead over Peters.

The poll by the North Carolina-based company was conducted of 825 registered voters in the state from April 3 to April 6. Of those queried, 20 percent were by internet. The poll has an error rate of 3.4 percent.

The same poll also asked about the race between Governor Rick Snyder and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer, but that showed little movement in public views, with Snyder still favored by 4 percentage points.

In the Senate race, now viewed as one of the more key races in the nation, Land had pulled ahead of Peters late in 2013 and early this year, but recent polls have showed the race tightening. A poll released in mid-March showed Peters ahead by 3 percentage points, but within the margin of error.

PPP is considered a Democratic-leaning polling company, though it has a national record of accurately calling many elections.

In the latest PPP poll, Peters led with 41 percent to Land’s 36 percent. The lead was outside the margin of error. However, the poll also showed that 23 percent of those asked were unsure who they would vote for.

In its own analysis, the firm said a major reason for Peters’ pickup is that the public’s view of the controversial federal Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare by its critics, has moderated. Following the ACA’s flawed rollout in October, a PPP poll showed that 63 percent of those asked thought the act was unsuccessful.

But with some 7.1 million people reported as signing up for health insurance under the system by its March 31 deadline, the latest PPP poll shows that number has fallen to 52 percent.

A plurality of those asked, 48 percent, still oppose the ACA overall, the PPP said.

Heather Swift, Land’s spokesperson, said the poll was over weighted with Democrats and would certainly show Peters with better results.

But that Land is still close after attack ads run by Peters and special interests shows that the race would get tighter, Swift said. Land had always expected that, she said.

SNYDER/SCHAUER: The 4 percentage point lead that Snyder held over Schauer in PPP’s December poll has held through April, the poll said.

The poll showed voters asked favored Snyder 43 percent to 39 percent, again outside the margin of error.

Despite his lead, the polled showed just 40 percent of those asked approved of the job Snyder was doing (compared to 48 percent who disapprove), and 44 percent who said they would vote to repeal right-to-work laws (just 34 percent would vote to keep them, but 22 percent were unsure).

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