Poll: Stabenow's lead expands in Michigan after controversial Hoekstra ad

Sen. Debbie Stabenow's (D-Mich.) lead over former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) has expanded to fourteen points in the most recent poll following a controversial Hoekstra ad some viewed as racist.

The poll, conducted by the Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling, shows Stabenow up 51 percent to 37 percent. That's an increase over the 9-point lead she held in their July poll.

According to the survey, more than half of Michigan voters were familiar with the controversial ad, in which an Asian-American actress playing a Chinese girl thanks Stabenow in broken English for shipping jobs to China. Of those, almost half said the ad made them less likely to vote for Hoekstra, while just 16 percent said it made them more likely to back him.

While Stabenow's job approval numbers had held steady, Hoekstra's had dipped 20 points amongst independents.

He still holds a strong lead over his primary foes, with 42 percent support to 9 percent for Clark Durant. But that's down from 78 percent support in the July poll.

The poll was conducted from Feb. 10-12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent for the general election and 4.9 percent for the primary.

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