Stabenow would certainly be the strongest candidate for the Dems. Cherry is not well known and is not charismatic, though this being Michigan, still has at least even odds of winning the general.
Land would be the GOP's best candidate, though Cox would be formidable too. Hoekstra would certainly be the weakest of the major contenders; he'd get killed in metro Detroit.
Totally agree. I think one of the major factors that puts Land above Cox is name recognition--any time someone has to get their driver's license renewed, they walk into a building with her name on it.
Is that necessarily a positive connection?
Given Granholm's generally poor approval ratings, I think any name recognition will be good. I'm not an expert on voter psychology, so I suppose it's possible that, next year, many MI voters will think of that time they had to sit in the Secretary of State's office for an hour and a half.
I probably phrased my original post poorly. Since Land's name is everywhere throughout the state, I think she will have an easier go of things than will Cox. I might be wrong, though.
