GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – There are 23 days left until You Decide 2014 and the political lean of the U.S. Senate remains in the balance.
Republicans need to pick up six seats to grab a majority in the upper chamber, while the GOP is all but guaranteed to maintain control of the U.S. House.
Democratic Rep. Gary Peters and Republican Terri Lynn Land are locked in an increasingly close race just 23 days ahead of Election Day.
The most recent poll in Michigan, conducted by Mitchell Research, shows just a five point lead for Peters, but still outside the margin of error.
Among men, Peters leads by three points, stretching it to seven with women. That number is about half of the lead Peters had among female voters in a poll recently conducted for a Detroit newspaper.
Both camps are now targeting the coveted female vote in the days ahead of the election.
Last week, the Land campaign went on the offensive, accusing Democrats of attacking her for framing policy answers from her experience as a mother.
It was a theme Land picked up again on Monday.
“Moms look at things from their perspective and one of the things I look at is what’s happening overseas,” Land explained. “It's about safety and security. We have a president who is not leading. He is not coming up with a plan, a long-term, precise, clear plan to deal with ISIS. We need to make sure that our country is safe and secure and as a mom or dad I think that's very important.”
The Peters campaign on Monday unveiled a new ad called For Real, which takes on Land’s position on the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision deciding whether companies must provide contraceptive coverage for their employees.
The Peters campaign also announced "Women for Gary," a group supporting Rep. Peters, comprised of women from every county in the state.
Co-chairs of the group include Colleen Peters, Gary’s wife; U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow; State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer; U.S. House Candidate Debbie Dingell; and Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence.
“I’m honored to have earned the support of so many women across our state because the stakes in this election could not be higher," Peters said in a statement. "I am proud of my record fighting for equal pay, stopping discrimination, and helping to ensure access to affordable health care..."
Land Campaign spokeswoman Heather Swift called the new ad false.
“Desperate to cover up sexist, anti-mom attacks from his campaign and allies, Gary Peters has resorted to lying about Terri and her positions," said Swift. "The only candidate who has hurt women’s access to health care is Gary Peters. His support of ObamaCare has caused over 200,000 families to lose their plans. To make matters worse, his campaign is now attacking Terri for talking about how being a mom is important to her decision making. While Terri has a plan to put Michigan women first, it’s clear that Gary Peters will only put himself first, at the expense of Michigan women and families.”
