It's a tight race as Democrat Gary Peters fights to succeed Carl Levin in the United States Senate. The latest Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll shows Peters with a six-point lead over Republican challenger Terri Lynn Land.
It has become clear that Congressman Peters has decided to make climate change one of the central issues of his campaign.
Andrew Restuccia reported on the Peters "Green Theme" for Politico.
Restuccia said it’s unusual for political candidates to make climate change one of their campaign focuses, especially in such a tight race, and Michigan in particular.
“This Rust Belt state is one of the last places you might expect to wage a winning Senate campaign by trumpeting climate change ... and boasting about voting for cap and trade,” Peters noted in his piece.
But as Restuccia pointed out, Peters could play up the climate change to win over some undecided voters with whom the cause resonates. They could be anyone from fishermen to conservationists, or people spending weekends in the Great Lakes.
“The Great Lakes are obviously a huge economic driver of the state. So he can talk about climate change without alienating by connecting things like the Great Lakes, and connecting it to what happened to Detroit, the pet coke there,” Restuccia said.
*Listen to the full interview with Andrew Restuccia on Stateside today at 3:00 pm. We’ll post the audio clip at around 4:30 pm.
