GRAND RAPIDS, MI – U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, now trails Steve Pestka in his bid to win re-election to the U.S. House, according to a poll conducted Oct. 17-18.

The Detroit News reports that a Glengariff Group, Inc. poll of 400 likely voters found 34.9 percent support Pestka, a Cascade Township Democrat, compared to 33.8 percent in favor of Amash. Nearly 29 percent of voters are undecided about whom they prefer in the Third Congressional District that was represented by Republican Vern Ehlers until Amash replaced him in 2010.

The report cites Pestka spokesman Steve Coon saying that people prefer the Democrat as they learn more about the two candidates. A different poll released about 10 days earlier found Amash had a 4-point lead.

“If I was Justin Amash, I would be worried that I was a sitting congressman and doing that poorly," he said.

The polling firm’s president said the results stem partly from political trends in Kent County, which “isn’t the rock solid Republican county it used to be.” But Amash’s campaign spokesman Daniel Estrada said “we look forward to everyone seeing the true results on Election Day,” because internal polling “consistently shows Rep. Amash with a double-digit lead and broad bipartisan support across the district.”

Amash in 2010 won the seat by more than 20 points over Democrat Pat Miles, Jr.

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Pestka has a significant lead in Grand Rapids where he has been endorsed by Mayor George Heartwell, wzzm13.com reports. Amash has a commanding lead elsewhere in Kent County and in Barry, Ionia and Montcalm counties. Pestka leads in Calhoun County, where nearly half of voters are undecided.

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