What is inarguably the most-watched and most-discussed U.S. House race in Michigan is not turning out the way it was expected following the August primaries.
For weeks, polls showed Hayley Stevens, a former Obama Administration official, a strong bet to put the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Dave Trott in the Democratic column.
Not so now. Last week, an MIRS poll of Michigan’s 11th District (Wayne-Oakland Counties) a tie between Stevens and Republican Lena Epstein. Each had 48 percent. The margin of error was +/-4.5 percent.
MIRS's findings are a sharp contrast from those of The New York Times/Siena College poll two weeks ago, which showed Stevens leading Epstein 45 to 38 percent.
It is rare to find a race in which both major party nominees are women in their 30s — or have such disparate backgrounds. Stevens held several posts in the Obama Administration, including as chief of staff of the Auto Rescue program overseeing the 2009 federal bailout of the automotive industry in Michigan.
In this campaign, Stevens has been running as an unabashed Obama Democrat and making the case for more spending on education and infrastructure.
Republican Epstein is co-owner of the Vesco Oil Corporation, which manufactures lubricants for the automotive industry. Under the leadership of Harvard alumni Epstein, Vesco doubled in size for the first time in 15 years. Today, the company employs 260 and has an annual revenue of $180 billion.
"Business has been in my family for a long time," Epstein told Newsmax, recalling how her grandfather founded the famed Winkelman’s Department Store in 1928.
She has campaigned hard as a supporter of lowering tax rates ("the one passed by Congress will add $4,400 to every family's budget"), revising trade agreeements "to provide better jobs for Americans," and less regulation.
Just as Stevens is identified closely with President Obama, Epstein proudly identifies with President Trump for whom she proudly served as state campaign co-chairman in 2016.
"He built buildings and did business on an international scale, and I was inspired by that," she said of her early support of Trump, "And everything he said made sense. I've met him several times and found him to be gracious and kind. I like him, and always have."
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently dropped a whopping $2 million for independent TV spots on Stevens’ behalf and Obama himself made an appearance for the Democratic hopeful.
Trump's America First political action committee has made a six-figure expenditure to help Epstein, and Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, have stumped for her.
One factor that pundits say makes the contest in the 11th District truly an "all-star race"is that neither Epstein nor Stevens attack one another and tend to focus on their respective backgrounds and agenda.
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