Fresh polling in Michigan revealed the political headwinds Democrats face heading into the midterm elections, which are shaping up to be a Republican wave that could sweep them from power locally and in Washington, D.C.
In a mid-May survey commissioned for the Detroit Regional Chamber, President Joe Biden’s job approval rating in this key Midwestern battleground was an abysmal 36% among registered voters, with 55% disapproving. Additionally, 69% of Michigan voters said the United States is on the “wrong track,” with only 17% believing the country is on the “right track.”
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Numbers like that usually portend defeat for the party in power — and Democrats are in charge, both in Washington, D.C., and in the Michigan governor’s mansion and other top state constitutional offices in Lansing. However, this May 9-13 survey also contained a bright spot for Democrats in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s job approval rating is a respectable 49%, with 41% disapproving.
“The bad news is [Whitmer’s] party is in power, and the voters are very angry over the economy,” Richard Czuba, founder of the Lansing-based Glengariff Group, which conducted the poll, told the Detroit News.
“The good news, however, is the voters, particularly independents, appear to be making a clear delineation between Joe Biden and Gretchen Whitmer in this state,” Czuba added.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Other key findings from the survey include:
- Voters were more positive about the direction of their state than they are about the direction of the country, with 50% saying Michigan is on the wrong track and 32% saying it is on the right track.
- Inflation was rated the top priority by 33% of voters, followed by 13% saying “road or infrastructure” and 11% saying the Supreme Court’s looming decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate federal protections for abortion rights.
- Voters are even more pessimistic about the state of the national economy than the direction of the country, and 73% said the economy is on the wrong track while just 19% said it is on the right track.
- Whitmer’s job approval with independent voters was 42%, with 40% disapproving — not great. But Biden’s rating with independents was a horrific 18%, with 63% disapproving.
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Whitmer was elected in 2018, a Democratic wave year. Multiple Republicans are vying to take her on this fall, with a spirited primary campaign underway to pick a nominee. In 2020, Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Michigan, 50.6% to 47.8%.
