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If Democratic voters had the chance, they would make Oakland County trial attorney Geoffrey Fieger their candidate for governor in November, according to a poll released Friday to the Free Press and WXYZ-TV [[Channel 7).
Fieger, who gained fame as assisted-suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian's lawyer and lost in a landslide as the Democrats' candidate for governor in 1998, has hinted he might join the race.
But he'd need to move quickly, with less than three weeks left to collect the 15,000 valid petition signatures required to put his name on the Aug. 3 primary ballot.
The poll, conducted Wednesday by EPIC-MRA of Lansing, found that 28% of 400 likely Democratic primary voters would choose Fieger, who couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
The poll showed House Speaker Andy Dillon of Redford Township with 20%, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero with 13% and state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith of Salem Township with 8%. Nearly a third of voters were undecided.
Fieger was the choice of 51% of Detroit Democrats and 40% of Democrats in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, where he nearly doubled the numbers of the second finisher, Dillon.
Fieger's lead -- and the number of undecided voters -- shrank when those polled were given brief descriptions of the candidates and their backgrounds.
Fieger is most popular among voters ages 41-49. He's preferred by union members, though he tied among them with Bernero -- 29% each -- when those voters were given more information about the candidates.
Bernero has received the most significant labor union endorsements.
