Trump tops Biden by 3 points in Michigan: Poll

Former President Trump leads President Biden by 3 points, 48 percent to 45 percent, in a hypothetical 2024 general election head-to-head match-up among registered voters in Michigan, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

The poll — which was conducted in the five days following Biden’s State of the Union address — saw Trump’s lead grow to 5 points when Michigan respondents were asked about a hypothetical five-candidate race, including Independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

In the five-person match-up, Trump received 41 percent of voter support, Biden received 36 percent, Kennedy received 10 percent, Stein received 4 percent, and West received 3 percent.

In the head-to-head match-up, Trump and Biden both receive strong support from their respective parties, with 94 percent of Republicans backing Trump and 93 percent of Democrats backing Biden. Independents are split among the two parties’ 2024 presumptive nominees, but lean toward Trump, with 46 percent for Trump and 42 percent for Biden.

“With a big electoral prize hanging in the balance and their parties equally enthusiastic about their candidates, Biden and Trump brace for a combative rematch,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement about the survey.

Michigan is gearing up to be among the most pivotal battleground states in the 2024 presidential election. According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s polling average in the state, Trump has a 3.3 point lead in head-to-head polls against Biden.

The survey also asked respondents about their top issues going into the election. Overall, 22 percent said their top issue would be preserving democracy in the United States, 21 percent said the economy and 21 percent said immigration, when given a list of 10 issues. No other issue listed received responses in the double digits.

There is a significant partisan divide in what issues registered voters in Michigan said they care about.

A strong plurality of Democrats, 42 percent, said preserving democracy in the United States was their top issue. The only other issues to reach double digits among them were gun violence and the economy, with 12 and 10 percent, respectively.

Among Republicans, 42 percent said immigration was their top issue, and 24 percent said the economy was their top issue. No other issue listed received responses in the double digits.

Independents ranked the economy first, at 26 percent, followed by U.S. democracy, at 21 percent, and then immigration, at 18 percent.

The survey found that 65 percent of registered voters in Michigan described the economy as either “not so good” or “poor,” with 28 percent and 37 percent of responses, respectively. At 61 percent, most respondents still said their personal financial situation is either “excellent” or “good,” with 9 percent and 52 percent of responses, respectively.

“A head scratcher, but a fact: 65 percent of Michigan voters seem to think the economy is shaky at best, but nearly the same number say their finances are doing just fine,” Malloy said in the statement.

The survey, conducted March 8-12, included 1,487 self-identified registered voters in Michigan, and had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.