Combat veteran John James leads Michigan GOP primary with barely a week to go, poll shows

Henry Rodgers, DCNF

U.S. Army combat veteran John James has a seven-point advantage over primary opponent Sandy Pensler just over a week ahead of Michigan’s Aug. 7 Republican primary election for U.S. Senate, an NBC and Marist poll shows.

Kid Rock (R) sits court side with John James, a Republican candidate for the US Senate during the an NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets at Little Caesars Arena on January 6, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

The Thursday poll had James with 30 percent support compared to Pensler’s 23 percent. The Michigan Senate primary race, which has become heated at times, shows James with momentum despite being outspent by Pensler. The two have duked it out over support for President Donald Trump after Pensler was seen questioning Trump’s wealth in a video, claiming Trump tried to buy the Mets baseball team from him but did not have the money. Pensler also criticized the way Trump speaks, saying he spoke at a “fourth grade level.”

“This poll reflects the momentum I am seeing on the ground as I continue to travel this state, sharing our conservative outsider message of economic opportunity and national security for all Michiganders,” James told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Michiganders want a battle-tested combat veteran and job creator to work with President Trump to ban sanctuary cities, protect Michigan jobs, and keep Americans safe.”

James, 37, graduated from West Point and flew Apache helicopters during Operation Iraqi Freedom before returning home to Michigan to run his logistics business. James touts the support of over 30,000 individual donors and a list of big name endorsements.

Pensler, 61, a millionaire businessman and Wall Street financier, has been running on a pro-Trump agenda, despite previous comments about the president.

The poll surveyed nearly 1,000 likely Michigan voters between July 15 and 19. There was a margin of error of plus or minus 8.4 percentage points.

The winner of the Aug. 7 primary will take on Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the Nov. 6 general election.

Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter

For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!