Steve Mitchell, whose firm regularly conducts polling for the Michigan Information & Research Service, said an unpublished survey showed state Sen. Mallory McMorrow far behind former health official Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens. MIRS’ editor said he opted not to run the results after hearing objections from McMorrow’s campaign and consulting other pollsters.
Steve Mitchell of Mitchell Research & Communications told POLITICO his firm conducted a survey for the Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) that found McMorrow with 6% support among likely Democratic primary voters, trailing Abdul El-Sayed at 42% and Rep. Haley Stevens at 33%.
Mitchell said the McMorrow campaign objected after seeing the numbers and pressed MIRS not to publish. Kyle Melinn, a news editor at MIRS, told POLITICO he decided to withhold the poll after speaking with the McMorrow campaign and consulting other pollsters about the survey.
A McMorrow campaign spokesperson, Jackson Boaz, told POLITICO the campaign believed the poll was flawed, including because it used an open-access online link that could allow multiple responses. Boaz described the approach as “polling malpractice” and said MIRS concluded the poll did not meet its standards.
Mitchell defended his firm’s work and told POLITICO he stood by the survey’s results, while also acknowledging there were errors in the memo describing the poll.
The dispute comes as Michigan Democrats prepare for an Aug. 4 primary to nominate their candidate for U.S. Senate.
