Venerable Michigan pollster EPIC/MRA polled the Michigan Governor's race (3/28/2010-3/31/2010).  The results:

Republican Primary:

Pete Hoekstra 27%
Mike Cox 21%
Rick Snyder 15%
Mike Bouchard 13%
Tom George 3%

Democratic Primary

Andy Dillon 22%
Virg Bernero 15%
Alma Wheeler Smith 11%

Head-to-head

Hoekstra (R) 40%
Dillon (D) 33%

Hoekstra (R) 42%
Bernero (D) 29%

Cox (R) 43%
Dillon (D) 34%

Cox (R) 44%
Bernero (D) 30%

Full Michigan polling results for the year can be found here.

RCP currently rates the race as Leans Republican.

Insider Advantage polled the Republican gubernatorial primary race (4/5/2010, 396 LVs, MOE +/- 95%), with the following results:

John Oxendine -- 26%

Karen Handel -- 18%

Nathan Deal -- 9%

Eric Johnson -- 5%

Other -- 11%

No Opinion -- 31%

Key graf: "The high undecideds are to be expected at this still-early juncture in the race; any poll showing otherwise would be suspect. Karen Handel has made some headway in recent weeks. She's probably picking up some former supporters of Congressman Nathan Deal, who has gotten recent bad publicity about the ethics allegations against him. Oddly, most of the support for Handel, the former secretary of state, continues to come more from men than from women."

The Republican National Committee, under heavy criticism for its spending practices, announced this morning it raised $11.4 million in March. The committee now has $11.3 million in the bank, and Chairman Michael Steele is seeking to assure donors that it will be spent properly.

"The RNC will use these resources to build the infrastructure needed to elect conservative candidates that believe in the fundamental principles of lower taxes and smaller government that the American people are clearly demanding," Steele said in announcing the fundraising total.

Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak's Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter has yet to pick up steam, as a new Quinnipiac survey finds him trailing by 21 points in the May 18 contest.

"With less than six weeks until the May 18 primary, Sen. Arlen Specter looks to be in solid shape for the Democratic nomination," said Quinnipiac assistant director Peter Brown. "Not only would Sestak have to win every undecided vote, he also would have to take away some who say they are for Specter."

Specter's favorable rating is twice as high as Sestak's, as nearly 6-in-10 Dem primary voters still say they don't know enough about the congressman.

Senate Dem Primary
Specter 53 (nc vs. last poll, March 2)
Sestak 32 (+3)
Und 15

The Democratic primary for governor, however, is much closer as Allegheny Co. Executive Dan Onorato, Joe Hoeffel and state Auditor General Jack Wagner finish within 7 points of each other. Meanwhile, Attorney General Tom Corbett holds a 58%-7% lead over state Rep. Sam Rohrer in the GOP primary.

"Dan Onorato remains slightly ahead as he has since the campaign began, but his margin is so small and the undecided vote so large that at this point the race is a three-way toss-up," said Brown.

Governor Dem Primary
Onorato 20
Hoeffel 15
Wagner 13
Williams 5
Und 47

The survey was conducted March 31-April 5 of 921 Dem LV with a MoE of +/- 3.2%.

The tragic accident that killed 25 West Virginia coal miners immediately brought to mind a similar incident that qualifies one of the more despicable yet illuminating cases of Bush Derangement Syndrome. In early January 2006, an explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia killed 12 (one miner miraculously survived.). Within hours there were accusations bouncing through the left wing blogosphere laying responsibility for the mens' deaths at the feet of President Bush.

One blogger from MyDD said that President Bush "didn't do anything to prevent it [the accident]. In fact, if anything, the actions of his administration made the situation worse." Similar accusations were repeated by more prominent bloggers like Andrew Sullivan and Kevin Drum. It took me less than three hours to research the facts and write a rebuttal, which you can read in full here if you're interested.

Can you imagine the outcry today if someone were to suggest that President Obama and/or his administration were somehow responsible for the deaths of the twenty five miners who tragically lost their lives yesterday? It's a patently insane accusation - especially without any evidence to back it up. Yet four years ago those on the left didn't bat an eye when it came to slinging that charge Bush's way, which just goes to show what a true epidemic Bush Derangement Syndrome had become by the beginning of 2006.

"He's prone to tirades. He can be very emotional, act impulsively. In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan's most profitable exports," - Peter Galbraith, former U.N envoy to Afghanistan, talking about Hamid Karzai.

Public Policy Polling's (D) latest survey in Illinois (591 RVs, 4/1-5, MoE +/- 4%) has Rep. Mark Kirk (R) taking the lead for the first time.

General Election Matchup
Kirk 37 (+3 vs. last poll, 1/22-25)
Giannoulias 33 (-9)
Und 30 (+6)

"'The controversies swirling around Giannoulias and his family seem to be taking a toll on him," PPP finds, referring to stories about the Illinois treasurer's family bank.

It's PPP's first survey since the February 2 primary. In that January poll, Giannoulias had a net favorable rating of +12; it's now -7.

It's also noteworthy in this race for Barack Obama's former Senate seat that the president's job approval rating is down to 50 percent, with 42 percent disapproving. A slim plurality supports Obama's health care plan, by a margin of 46-43 percent. Forty-two percent of voters would support an effort by Republicans to repeal that legislation, a subject Kirk has not been entirely clear upon since its passage.

In an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Harry Reid says the people just love his new health care bill:

"Now that the [health care] legislation passed, it's amazing how much different people's attitude is. I mean, traveling on airplanes, people are so nice to me - and it wasn't that way before....

Everybody acknowledges, with rare exceptions, that what we did with our immediate deliverables are terrific. And if there are some problems in the out years, we'd be happy to take a look at that."

Clearly, not everyone thinks what the Democrats did in passing health care - be they "immediate deliverables" or anything else - is a good thing. Just look at polling from CBS News - an organization that will never be accused of having a conservative bias:

Immediately Before HC Passed (Mar 18-21)
37% in Favor of Bill
48% Opposed to Bill

Immediately After HC Passed (Mar 22-23)
42% in Favor
46% Opposed

One Week After HC Passed (Mar 29-April 1)
32% in Favor
53% Opposed

So according to CBS's surveys, the public is actually a net 10 points less favorably disposed to the Democrats' health care law than they were two weeks ago to the Democrats' health care legislation.  Harry Reid may have had a recent warm and fuzzy encounter with someone on an airplane, but he'd be a fool to mistake that for an "amazing" change in attitude about health care.

Reid may be proud that the Democrats' legislation has, in his words, "changed America forever," but that's precisely why there is such animated opposition to the law - and why there's a very good chance it will put an end to Harry Reid's political career in just a few short months.

Public Policy Polling (D) has released its first survey in Pennsylvania (934 RVs, 3/29-4/1, MoE +/- 3.2%), and finds Republican Pat Toomey leading against both potential Democratic candidates, incumbent Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak (D).

General Election Matchups
Toomey 46 -- Specter 43 -- Und 11
Toomey 42 -- Sestak 36 -- Und 22

Specter's job rating is in perilous territory for an incumbent -- 34 percent approve while 52 percent disapprove. President Obama also is in negative territory, with 46 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving. Forty-two percent of Pennsylvanians say they support the Obama health care plan while 49 percent oppose it. And 49 percent support a position held by Toomey -- that Republicans should work to repeal the bill; 44 percent say no.

PPP sees Specter as closely tied to the president's fate:

“Arlen Specter isn't very popular but if Pennsylvania voters felt the same way about Barack Obama today that they did a year ago Democrats would be winning this race,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “If the President rebounds by the fall Specter will too.”

The Democratic primary is May 18.

Trey Grayson and Rand Paul are entrenched in one of the most interesting and combative primaries in the country, as both Republicans vie for the chance to replace outgoing Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R). A new Rasmussen poll (March 31, 500 LV, MoE +/- 4.5%) finds that either candidate would easily win the general election over either of the two Democrats running, Daniel Mongiardo and Jack Conway.

Grayson 53 (+7 vs. last poll, March 2)
Mongiardo 33 (nc)
Und 9

Paul 52 (+1)
Mongiardo 37 (+3)
Und 8

Grayson 52 (+3)
Conway 32 (+1)
Und 11

Paul 50 (+1)
Conway 36 (+2)
Und 11

Both Republicans hold large leads in the RCP Averages, while Paul and Mongiardo have led the most recent primary polls.