But Nelson's moderate stands on issues like gun control may resonate better with Florida's demographically and ideologically diverse electorate. This election may tell us. Michigan may be moving out of the group of presidential battleground states, with recent polls showing Gore up by 15 point. This is good news for Stabenow, who is betting that her liberal stands on issues like prescription drug coverage under Medicare will resonate both with the Gore-Lieberman campaign and with Michigan voters. She is also the more energetic campaigner of the two and has set out, in particular, to mobilize Michigan women.
Polls show a statistical dead heat.
Last year pundits named Grams as the Republican incumbent most likely to go down in 2000. But unexpectedly vigorous competition among DFL primary candidates, none of whom are very well known, has made this race into a likely close one by dividing Democrats and eating up party resources. Still, Grams has low popularity ratings and few legislative accomplishments to advertise. This should be a tight contest between ideologically polarized candidates, with Dayton stressing universal health care and Grams calling for extensive privatization of Social Security. This contest has remained a statistical dead heat for many months, despite lots of advertising and heavy investments of both major parties.