Virg Watch

Bill Ballenger, publisher of Inside Michigan Politics,released an early snippet of a poll commissioned by Market Research Group thatshows Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero trailing Speaker of the House Andy Dillonamong likely — that is, hardcore —Democratic primary voters.

According to the poll, Dillon’s got 21 percent, Bernero 9percent, and state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Ypsilanti, 6 percent. The pollqueried 175 likely primary voters statewide between March 10 and March 15.Including 133 probable voters along with the 175 — for 308 total — paintsa slightly different picture: Bernero stayed the same, while Dillon dropped to18 percent, and Smith went up to 7 percent.

But the interesting thing about these numbers, Ballengersaid, is that a gigantic number of voters are simply undecided. When the samepoll was conducted last year and included Lt. Gov. John Cherry and Dillon,Ballenger said, half of voters surveyed picked a candidate.

This could be good for Bernero, Ballenger said, because thatmeans there are a lot of votes out there to be picked up.

The poll of likely voters had a margin of error of plus orminus 7.4 points. With probable voters included, the margin of error was plusor minus 5.6 points.

In other gubernatorial news, the mayor picked up theFacebook-announced endorsement of Paul Massaron, a member of the Wayne StateUniversity Board of Governors. Massaron reported he met Bernero at Saturday’sBuck Dinner — a rather secret fundraiser for social justice and other nonprofitcauses held yearly in an undisclosed location in southeast Michigan — and likedwhat he had to say.

In other endorsements, Ingham County Register of DeedsCurtis Hertel Jr. has thrown his support behind Bernero. Hertel said he wasinitially a Cherry supporter, but switched to brand Bernero after Cherrydropped out. Hertel reported that he is working on a fundraiser for Bernerohosted by countywide elected officials — time, date and place to be announced.

In campaign stops this week, Bernero at the very leastvisited the Allegan County Democrats last Wednesday, plus the aforementionedBuck Dinner. Bernero has been invited to a Friday gubernatorial forum at thedowntown Lansing Radisson hosted by the Michigan Soybean Association, plus 18other agri-business associations, but he has yet to RSVP, according to theassociation.