LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline)-Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is the frontrunner in next year's governor's race, a poll Monday indicates.

The poll by Mitchell Research & Communications shows that Cox narrowly leads the race for the Republican nomination against U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, 27 percent to 24 percent.

The survey of 600 likely voters conducted this month shows one-third of voters are still undecided. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

In hypothetical general election matchups, the poll indicates that Cox would beat Lt. Gov. John Cherry, the Democratic frontrunner, by 13 points, 45 percent to 32 percent.

"Mike Cox has a strong lead everywhere but in the city of Detroit, where the Democrat always gets about 90 percent of the vote," Steve Mitchell, president of Mitchell Research, was quoted by the Detroit News as saying.

The poll comes as Cox is being criticized by some for his handling the investigation into the alleged party at the Manoogian Mansion in fall 2002 hosted by ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Cox is accused of jettisoning an investigation into an alleged cover-up of the beating of a stripper at the mayor's official residence.

Cox is expected to be deposed Dec. 11 in the lawsuit involving slain dancer Tamara Greene, who danced at the allegedly wild party and was killed in a Detroit drive-by shooting in 2003.

Elected attorney general in 2002, Cox has been a steadfast supporter of tax cuts to help revive the Wolverine State's ailing economy.

He has called for slashing Michigan's main business tax in half, and says lawmakers should repeal the $700 million income tax increase that took effect in 2007.

In 2002, Cox became the first Republican state attorney general in nearly 50 years. In 2006, he won re-election.

From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.