The rosy Republican outlook has some Republicans worried.
Polls that put Gov. John Engler ahead of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoffrey Fieger by almost a 3-1 ratio worry Republicans. They fear many GOP supporters will skip voting because they think their votes aren’t needed.
“That is our No. 1 concern,” said state party spokesman Sage Eastman. “The margins we have are a two-edged sword — it could depress the Democratic vote, but it also could cause Republicans to become complacent.”
GOP organizers report encountering some apathy as they crank up get-out-the-vote campaigns, The Detroit News reported Sunday.
Ottawa County in western Michigan is among the most Republican counties in the country, with about 85 percent of voters generally siding with the GOP. The huge margins reflected in recent surveys worry Ottawa County Clerk Daniel Krueger, who fears Republicans will feel they “have it in the bag.”
Turnout generally drops in non-presidential election years. Overall, only 51 percent of registered voters statewide turned out in 1994 in the last nationwide non-presidential election.
