Poll: Peters holds wide lead over Clarke in member-member matchup

Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) leads fellow Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Mich.) by a wide margin in their newly configured district, according to a new nonpartisan poll.

Peters leads Clarke by 45 to 27 percent in the poll, commissioned by the local Fox News affiliate. But there are signs that Clarke could make up some ground: Fifty-eight percent of poll respondents say it's "very important" to have a representative from Detroit in Congress, and 55 percent say it's "very important" to have an African-American in the seat.

Clarke is of African-American and Bengali heritage and is from the city, while Peters is white and from the suburbs. Peters's district was eliminated by redistricting and part of it was combined with part of Clarke's to form a district spanning from Detroit across the 8 Mile Road border into Oakland County.

While most signs point to Peters having the upper hand in this race (he leads in endorsements and fundraising) the poll should be taken with a grain of salt: It was conducted on just one day, July 23. The poll surveyed 685 respondents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.74 percentage points.

The primary will take place on Aug. 7.