Even as Michigan Governor Whitmer’s unpopularity grows, she holds considerable sway in her state, according to a new Fox News poll.
Democrat Governor Whitmer has been under fire for draconian lockdown policies, which even prevented Michigan residents from purchasing fruit and vegetable seeds.
The seeds had been labeled “non-essential,” but lottery tickets and marijuana sales were permitted.
Many Michiganders accused Whitmer of “overreach,” which led to protests across the state.
Despite her soaring unpopularity, a new Fox News poll suggests that a Biden-Whitmer ticket would defeat Trump-Pence in Michigan by at least 8 percentage points.
President Trump destroyed the fabled Democratic blue wall when he won states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania in 2016.
More details on this new poll below:
President Trump has scrutinized throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while Governor Whitmer's overreaching policies went largely unreported by many in the mainstream media.
The Biden campaign understands that Michigan is a must-win state for him in order to win the White House.
As Biden searches and decides for a running mate, Whitmer's ability to bring Michigan to the table will certainly be tempting.
According to Fox News, if the election were held today, Biden-Whitmer would win the state by at least 8 percentage points:
Majorities of Michigan voters are concerned about coronavirus, think President Trump was too slow reacting to it, and favor waiting to reopen the economy. That contributes to Joe Biden leading the presidential race in a Fox News Poll of Michigan registered voters released Wednesday.
Biden’s 8-point advantage over Trump, 49-41 percent, is slightly larger than the poll’s margin of sampling error. However, both candidates remain below 50 percent and 10 percent of voters are still up for grabs.
Trump is preferred among white men (+17 points), white evangelical Christians (+51), and whites without a college degree (+8). In 2016, he won whites without a degree by 31 points.
The former vice president owes his lead to women (+20 points), non-whites (+63), and voters over age 65 (+19).
Party loyalty also helps Biden, as 91 percent of Democrats back him compared to 85 percent of Republicans supporting Trump.
But likeability could be the key. By a 10-point margin, more have a favorable (53 percent) than unfavorable (43 percent) opinion of Biden. Views of Trump are net negative by 8 points (44 favorable, 52 unfavorable).
In 2016, both candidates had net negative favorable ratings among Michigan voters -- Hillary Clinton by a 14-point margin and Trump by 20.
Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes, less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Still, there's plenty of time for voter opinions to change prior to the November elections.
Biden has largely been out of the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A return to the stage would also mean highly publicized gaffes and yelling matches with potential voters.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has been quietly setting up infrastructure in key swing states to lay the groundword for another surprise victory in 2020.
A Whitmer pick for Vice President would certainly be surprising, but not completely unexpected.
Joe Biden has said publicly that he will likely pick a female for his running mate.
However, while the new Fox New poll shows that Whitmer still has considerable strength in Michigan, many voters remain unhappy with her lockdown policies.
According to The Hill, the poll was conducted by the Detroit Regional Chamber:
Michigan residents prefer how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has handled the coronavirus outbreak over President Trump’s response to the pandemic, according to a statewide poll released Monday.
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s survey found that 57 percent of residents approved of Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic, while 44 percent said the same about Trump. Disapproval of the governor's response stood at 37 percent, compared with 50 percent for the president's.
Approval for both political leaders was split along party lines. For Whitmer, 89 percent of Democrats backed her handling of the virus, compared with 22 percent of Republicans supporting her. Among independent voters, 56 percent approved of the governor’s efforts during the crisis.
Michigan residents prefer how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has handled the coronavirus outbreak over President Trump’s response to the pandemic, according to a statewide poll released Monday.
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s survey found that 57 percent of residents approved of Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic, while 44 percent said the same about Trump. Disapproval of the governor's response stood at 37 percent, compared with 50 percent for the president's.
Approval for both political leaders was split along party lines. For Whitmer, 89 percent of Democrats backed her handling of the virus, compared with 22 percent of Republicans supporting her. Among independent voters, 56 percent approved of the governor’s efforts during the crisis.
Meanwhile, 88 percent of GOP respondents approved of Trump’s management of the outbreak, compared to 6 percent of Democrats who approved. Support for the president among independents was 40 percent.
[...]The Detroit Regional Chamber’s poll surveyed 600 residents from April 15 to 16. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Whether or not Biden picks Governor Whitmer to be his running mate, all eyes will be on Michigan in November!
But if the polls in 2016 were any indication, perhaps they can't be trusted!
We'll find out soon enough.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!