DETROIT – Former President Donald Trump maintains a slight lead over incumbent President Joe Biden among Michigan voters for the upcoming presidential election, but both candidates’ favorability ratings are quite low, according to a new WDIV/Detroit News poll.
Results from a survey of Michigan voters conducted between Jan. 2-6 found that both Republican frontrunner Trump and Democratic incumbent Biden are viewed unfavorably among Michiganders -- especially compared to Michigan’s leader, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Still, if the 2024 presidential election were held today, surveyed Michigan voters said they’d choose Trump over Biden.
Here are some of the key findings from this portion of the survey:
Biden vs. Trump, again
- When asked who they would vote for if the election was held today, 46.8% of Michigan voters said Trump, while 38.6% chose Biden. 3.3% of voters said “other.”
- Generally, 28.8% of voters viewed Biden favorably, while 57.7% viewed him unfavorable.
- Generally, 37.5% of voters viewed Trump favorably, while 47.8% viewed him unfavorably.
When asked if Biden or Trump deserve to be reelected, or if they should allow someone else a chance to do a better job:
- 16.7% of voters said Biden deserves reelection, while 76.5% of voters said someone else should be given a chance to do better.
- 32.6% of voters said Trump deserves reelection, while 62.3% said someone else should be given a chance to do better.
Generally, 18.5% of Michigan voters said they think the nation is on the right track, while 70.6% of voters said it’s on the wrong track.
Overall voter motivation among Michigan voters is at a 9.2 out of 10.
Preference for Michigan’s Whitmer
- 60.5% of Michigan voters said they approve of the job Gov. Whitmer is doing, while 34.6% disapprove.
- Compare this to Biden: 35.4% of voters approve of the job he’s doing as president, while 60.6% disapprove.
- 49.8% of Michigan voters viewed Whitmer favorably, while 34.4% viewed her unfavorably.
When asked if Whitmer was running for U.S. president as the Democratic candidate against Republican Trump:
- 49.4% of Michigan voters said they’d vote for Whitmer.
- 44.7% of Michigan voters said they’d vote for Trump.
Generally, 45.3% of voters said Michigan is on the right track, while 39.7% said the state’s on the wrong track.
Other candidates
Voters were asked how they would vote in the presidential race if additional, third-party or no-label candidates were included on the ballot. When Jill Stein was included as the Green Party candidate, Lars Mapstead as the Libertarian candidate, and Liz Cheney as the no-labels candidate:
- All three third-party candidates received fewer than 10% of the vote each, with Mapstead obtaining only 1.5% of the vote.
- It’s important to note, however, that the votes awarded to the third-party candidates were largely taken away from votes for Biden, but not for Trump. The percentage of voters choosing Trump essentially remained the same, regardless of what third-party candidates were included in the survey questions.
Generally, most voters said they weren’t likely to vote for a third-party candidate in the election.
- 27.9% of voters said they were somewhat likely to vote for a third-party candidate. 8.1% of voters said they were very likely to vote for a third-party candidate.
Separately, voters were asked who they’d prefer in a few scenarios, including:
- Voters were asked who they’d support if the election was held today and Trump was running against Gavin Newsom, the California governor, as the Democratic nominee. 40% of Michigan voters chose Newsom, while 44.5% of voters chose Trump.
- Voters were asked who they’d support if the election was held today and Biden was running against Nikki Haley as the Republican nominee. 34.3% of Michigan voters chose Biden, while 44.3% chose Haley.
Overall, 48.6% of voters said they are unsatisfied with the current candidates running for president in 2024, while 36.7% said they were satisfied.
- Broken down, 9% said they were very satisfied; 26.9% were somewhat satisfied; 26% were somewhat unsatisfied; and 22.6% were very unsatisfied.
---> Poll: How Michigan voters feel about Trump on 2024 ballot, Biden impeachment attempt
About the survey participants
- How they vote: 39.8% Democratic, 39.5% Republican, 19.2% Independent.
- Where they live: 46.3% of the voters were from Metro Detroit, while 53.7% were from outstate. 17.7% said they lived in an urban area; 33.7% live in the suburbs; 21.5% live in small towns; and 25% live in rural areas.
- Ages: 15.9% of respondents were between 18-29 years old; 17.2% were between 30-39; 20.8% were between 40-49; 23.8% were between 50-64; and 21.7% were 65+.
- Race: 76.7% of respondents identified as Caucasian; 14% identified as Black; 1.8% identified as Hispanic/Mexican/Puerto Rican; 0.5% identified as Asian; and 0.5% identified as Native American.
- Gender: 48.3% of respondents were female. 51.7% were male.
Methodology
The Glengariff Group, Inc. conducted a Michigan statewide survey of November 2024 likely general election voters. The 600 sample, live operator telephone survey was conducted on January 2-6, 2024 and has a margin of error of +/-4.0% with a 95% level of confidence. 14% of respondents were contacted via landline telephone. 86% of respondents were contacted via cell phone telephone. This survey was commissioned by WDIV Local 4 News and the Detroit News.