E. Lansing—The latest Denno Research survey of likely Democratic primary voters shows the gubernatorial race shaping up as a two-person race, with Gretchen Whiter and Shri Thanedar in a dead heat. Democrats were asked:
If the Democratic primary for governor was held today, who would you vote for (ROTATE)
1) Gretchen Whitmer (WIT-mer) 86 17.2 %
2) Shri (shree) Thanedar (tan-E-dar) 77 15.4 %
3) Abdul (ab-DOOL) El-Sayed (el-SAY-id) 12 2.4 %
4) William Cobbs 10 2.0 %
- Other/Unsure/DNK 315 63.0 %
Democrats were also asked if they recognized the names of Gretchen Whitmer, Shri Thanedar, and Abdul El-Sayed, and the results were:
| Candidate | Name ID recognition | Positive | Negative |
| Thanedar | 62% | 46% | 5% |
| Whitmer | 38% | 56% | 1% |
| El-Sayed | 35% | 38% | 7% |
Methodology:
This was a Denno Research survey of likely 2018 Democratic Primary voters. 500 respondents were surveyed between April 6-7, 2018, with a margin of error of plus/minus 4%, and the participation was stratified based on census data and past voter behavior. 150 respondents (30%) were from cell phone users, in an attempt to gather younger voters who do not have a land line. A screen was employed to include only those participants who said they would vote, either at the polls or by absentee ballot, in the 2018 Democratic Primary Election. All numbers are rounded and may not equal 100%.
