From the Detroit News:

Longtime U.S. Rep. John Dingell has a significant lead over Republican challenger Dr. Rob Steele in a Detroit News / Local 4 WDIV poll, despite growing GOP optimism they have a chance to topple the House’s longest-serving Democrat.

If the election were held today, 49.3 percent of 15th Congressional District voters said they’d vote for Dingell, D-Dearborn, compared to 30.3 percent for Steele, an Ann Arbor cardiologist, according to a telephone survey of 400 likely voters conducted Wednesday and Thursday. Nearly 13 percent are undecided.

The results come as Republicans are revving up their congressional campaigns to unseat Democratic incumbents, funneling donations and advertising to the most competitive races, including some in Michigan. While Dingell, 84, has fended off challengers for five decades, Steele said he believes voters are frustrated and looking for more accountability and less spending in Washington.

But based on the poll results, the 15th District is not as close a call as Republicans would like voters to believe, said Richard Czuba, president of the Glengariff Group Inc., which conducted the poll. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

“While the Republicans may be excited about the idea of defeating a Democratic icon like John Dingell, in reality, there are other seats now that are legitimately at play,” Czuba said.

The poll found that 42.3 percent of voters would definitely vote for Dingell, and 7 percent are leaning toward Dingell. The district covers parts of Wayne and Washtenaw counties and all of Monroe County.

Steele said he’s not discouraged, saying that it’s “fantastic” for his campaign that a congressman in office for 55 years is polling at less than 50 percent. Steele pointed to a poll his camp released earlier this month that showed Dingell with a 9 percentage point lead. “I think the fact that he’s only at 49 percent is a very bad thing for the congressman because it shows how much frustration people have,” Steele said.
Dingell’s campaign framed the poll results as a reflection of voters’ distaste for Steele’s “radical agenda” of privatizing Social Security.

“John Dingell is running an aggressive campaign for re-election, spending time listening to voters in Michigan and fighting to address their concerns in Washington,” said Jason Ellenburg, Dingell’s campaign manager. “John Dingell will win on Nov. 2 because he represents the values of the working men and women of Michigan’s 15th Congressional District.”

Steele said his agenda isn’t radical, and “there is no reason to privatize (Social Security). You can still have it be an absolute government-run program; it has to be protected.”

Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Dingell’s lead is not surprising.

“Congressman Dingell has delivered for that district over and over again,” Brewer said.

Read more at The Detroit News.