Joe Biden is maintaining his lead over President Trump in the key swing state of Michigan, according to a new poll released Tuesday morning.
According to a survey conducted by Progress Michigan, a Democratic-leaning firm, 50% of registered voters in Michigan say they would cast a ballot for Biden if the election were held the same, with 44% saying the same for Trump. Four percent say they would vote for a third-party candidate, and 2% haven’t made up their minds.
Trump’s support in the state closely mirrors his approval rating, with 43% approving of his job performance and 52% disapproving. Michigan voters also believe their governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, is doing a better job in handling the coronavirus outbreak than the president. Fifty-five percent favor their governor, with 37% saying Trump is doing a better job.
Progress Michigan interviewed 1,582 voters from May 29 to May 30. The margin of error on the poll was plus or minus 2.5%.
A strong majority of Michigan voters, 57%, also believe police brutality against African Americans constitutes a “very serious problem.” Twenty-seven percent said it is a “somewhat serious problem,” and 13% said it was “not much of a problem.”
Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016 with 47.50% of the vote, beating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by just over 10,000 votes. Michigan, along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, constitute much of the “blue wall” that Trump was able to flip into the Republican column and give him a large margin of victory in the Electoral College.
A RealClearPolitics average of polls taken from March onward in the state has Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, leading by 5.5 points. A Fox News poll conducted in April found Biden leading by 8 points with 49% support.
