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Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New poll shows how Michigan residents feel about Trump policies
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A new poll offers a glimpse at how people in Michigan feel about President Donald Trump's handling of the economy and his immigration policies. The EPIC-MRA statewide poll of likely November 2026 voters was released Tuesday. PDF: Poll data Of the 600 people polled, 56% said they would give Trump an overall negative rating, which means they rated his performance thus far as 'just fair' (11%) or 'poor' (45%). Forty-one percent gave him an overall positive rating, with 24% saying he was doing an 'excellent' job and 17% 'pretty good.' On the economy, 58% of respondents gave Trump a negative rating and 38% a positive rating. When asked how they would rate Trump's performance on reducing inflation and the cost of living, 62% gave an overall negative response, with 51% saying he was doing a 'poor' job and 11% 'just fair.' One-third of respondents gave him a positive rating: 19% said he was doing 'pretty good' on cutting inflation and 14% 'excellent.' Trump changes his tune on the economy Slightly over half of the people polled opposed Trump's tariffs, while 40% supported them. When it came to immigration, respondents were divided. Forty-eight percent gave Trump a positive rating and 48% gave him a negative rating. Trump administration offers $1,000 to migrants who self-deport The same poll also looked at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's overall performance. Slightly more than half of respondents (52%) gave her a positive rating, while 46% rated her performance negatively. About 41% of respondents described themselves as Democrats, which includes those who said they were independent but leaned toward the Democratic Party. Forty-three percent of respondents said they were Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. The poll was conducted between April 28 and May 3. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump approval rating lags in new Michigan poll: What Michiganders had to say
If this is what President Donald Trump had in mind for a "golden age," color most Michiganders unimpressed. A new poll of Michigan voters by EPIC-MRA of Lansing, conducted even as Trump returned to metro Detroit on April 29 to boast about his accomplishments after the first 100 days of his second term, showed a majority — 56% — giving his performance a negative rating so far as just fair (11%) or poor (45%) compared with 41% that gave the president positive marks of pretty good (17%) or excellent (24%). Three percent were undecided. More: We asked 100 Michiganders about Trump's first 100 days: Here's what they said Potentially more worrisome for Trump and Republican members of Congress who will face voters in the midterm elections next year, however, is the depths to which that disenchantment with the administration's handling of the White House runs. Clear majorities gave the president negative marks for his handling of the economy and inflation, as well as for ending Russia's war with Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as he promised on the campaign trail. "The only thing that he's close (to positive marks) on is immigration (for which 48% of respondents gave him a positive rating and 48% gave him negative ones, with 4% undecided)," said Bernie Porn, EPIC-MRA's pollster. "He's even starting to suffer among his own base. Unless something changes, those numbers are probably only going to get worse." For the survey, EPIC-MRA contacted at random 600 likely 2026 Michigan voters, 80% of whom were reached by cellphone, between April 28 and May 3. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. While the Free Press contracts with EPIC-MRA to do polling, this survey was not commissioned by the organization, though it was provided to the Free Press and its news media partners. More: Trump's budget hits Michigan with education, housing, community development cuts Of those voters contacted, 43% self-identified as Republican or Republican-leaning independents, 41% as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents and 12% as independents without any partisan lean. Four percent were undecided, refused to provide a partisan lean or identified themselves in some other way. As of February, Trump's job approval was 5 percentage points underwater in Michigan according to EPIC-MRA's poll that month, with 45% giving him positive marks and 50% negative ones. By this poll, the negative gap had swelled to 15 points. That mirrors what has been seen in most other recent polls nationally and in Michigan as the president has focused more on enacting sweeping tariffs worldwide, which he argues could bring more manufacturing into the U.S. but have rattled the stock market and raised the risk of even higher prices and a recession. And while Trump has generally gotten credit for living up to a promise to crack down on illegal immigration, the poll indicated voters are displeased with his follow-through on other commitments, such as ending the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Trump poll highlights In terms of Trump's handling of the economy, 58% gave him negative marks of just fair or poor, compared with 38% who gave him positive marks of pretty good or excellent and 4% undecided. On inflation, his negative marks were worse, at 62% compared with 33% positive and 5% undecided. Trump promised to bring prices down, but inflation has generally continued along the trajectory it had late in the Biden administration with various prices fluctuating, though energy prices have come down more significantly. Most — 52% — opposed Trump's tariff policies, compared with 40% in support and with 8% undecided. On ending the war in Ukraine, which Trump repeatedly said he would do upon entering office, 58% of the poll's respondents gave Trump negative marks, compared with 31% who gave him positive ones and 11% undecided. On ending the conflict in Gaza, which he also promised to do on the campaign trail, 55% gave him negative marks, compared with 29% who gave him positive ones and 16% undecided. Both conflicts are continuing. Republicans remained supportive of Trump, with 84% giving him overall positive job performance ratings, compared with 14% who viewed his performance negatively and 2% who were undecided. But a far greater percentage of Democrats — 96% — gave him negative marks compared with 3% who gave him positive ones and 1% undecided. Independents gave Trump a negative appraisal, 68%-19% with 12% undecided. Male voters who did not attend college and are considered a vital part of the president's base remained more generally supportive of Trump, giving him more positive marks on his handling of immigration (61%-35%) and the economy (50%-44%) and being more supportive of his tariff policy (55%-38%) than noncollege women and voters from both genders who attended college. On immigration and the economy, noncollege women viewed Trump's performance negatively 52%-45% and 60%-35% respectively, and 59% opposed his tariff policy to 34% who supported it. Among college-educated women, Trump's negative marks on immigration and the economy ran 58%-38% and 64%-32%, respectively, with 61% opposing his tariff policy to 35% in support. Among college-educated men, Trump's handling of immigration was within the margin of error, with 49% viewing it positively and 47% viewing it negatively. Among that group, 66% viewed his handling of the economy negatively to 31% who viewed it positively; 50% opposed his tariff policy to 37% who supported it. In terms of overall job approval, 45% of men had a positive view of Trump's performance, with 52% having a negative one and 3% undecided. Among women, 38% had a positive view, compared with 58% negative and 3% undecided. Among white people, 46% gave Trump positive marks, compared with 51% who gave him negative ones and 3% undecided; among Black people, 10% gave him positive marks, compared with 85% who gave him negative ones and 5% undecided. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump approval rating lags in new Michigan poll
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In race to succeed Gretchen Whitmer, Gilchrist says he can unite Democrats
Last week, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II entered the weirdest Michigan gubernatorial race I can remember ― admittedly, I've only lived here since 2000, so I missed the year celebrity attorney Geoffrey Fieger ran against Gov. John Engler, which must've been a real trip. Why is 2026 so weird? Mostly because Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, an uber-Democrat until *checks watch* last Thanksgiving, is running as an independent, a strategy that I struggle to see working out for Duggan or the Dems. But also because former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox ― a Republican who has been out of public life since the last time he ran for governor back in 2010, when he got pasted by then-candidate Rick Snyder and then-U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, is "exploring" a run, using $1 million of his own money. And finally, because an EPIC-MRA poll last month testing the popularity of various Michigan figures who might run for various things next year included former Amway executive/Betsy DeVos husband Dick DeVos ― a Republican who ran for governor in 2006 and got pasted by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm. I hoped we were done with also-rans, oligarchs and oligarch also-rans. (And yes, we're talking about the 2026 governor's race in March of 2025, because that's just how it goes.) Democrats, by and large, did not fare well in Michigan in the 2024 election. President Donald Trump won the state by about 80,000 votes. Democrats also lost the state House and the competitive 7th District U.S. House race, but it's a little premature to declare Michigan a red state. Democrats hold the top three statewide offices and the state Senate ― and in a year that favored Republicans, Democrat Elissa Slotkin beat Republican Mike Rogers by about 20,000 votes to win the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Gilchrist is the third Democrat to join the race, preceded by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. Benson has won statewide, twice, and has drawn national attention for her advocacy for voting access and fair elections. Two Republicans have officially announced: state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, and Grand Blanc resident and trucking company owner Anthony Hudson, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024 and whose campaign materials suggested he favored disbanding the U.S. military. American politics are cyclical, and there's no reason to think that Democrats running in 2026 won't fare just as well as Democrats who ran in 2022, or 2018, particularly if they're buoyed by growing opposition to Trump's breakneck efforts to dismantle the American government. But that's another reason next year's election is going to be weird: Democratic candidates must court a conflicted electorate, including centrists who value bipartisan cooperation and hope elected leaders will work across the aisle to mitigate the harm Trump is causing, and a loud left wing demanding full-scale opposition to Trump. In 2024, as candidates either lost or failed to engage key parts of key constituencies, the Democratic coalition wobbled, Gilchrist told me this week. And that's part of his argument: "I can hold the coalition together," Gilchrist said. More from Freep Opinion: I'm a historic preservationist, but these RenCen towers have to go For a candidate to declare that he or she is the only one who can win is standard campaign rhetoric. But in Gilchrist's case, it's worth considering. A former software engineer who left Michigan for a job at Microsoft, Gilchrist came back to work for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the progressive group But as lieutenant governor, he's worked alongside the more-centrist Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. At 42, he's the youngest candidate in the race, but he's championed serious policy initiatives, chairing the Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration with former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget McCormack, advocating for the addition of $50 million to the Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund and championing clean slate legislation that offers Michiganders convicted of certain crimes automatic expungement. He's a native Detroiter with three school-aged children; his wife, Ellen, is accomplished in her own right, as a former public schools administrator and a nonprofit executive. Still, said Andrea Bitely, founder and principal of Lansing-based Bitely Communications and a Free Press contributing columnist, "It is incredibly hard for a lieutenant governor to separate themselves from the governor they have served with. There's no mechanism for them to set their own path unless they go against the governor, which they are not inclined to do." A little, perhaps, like a vice president running to succeed her boss. Or, here in Michigan, former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, whose 2018 bid to follow Gov. Rick Snyder foundered in the GOP primary. But unlike Kamala Harris, whose campaign was inextricably linked to a deeply unpopular president ― or Calley, whose governor presided over the Flint water crisis ― Michigan voters like Gilchrist's boss. By November 2024, just 37% of respondents to a Gallup poll approved of Joe Biden. In last month's EPIC-MRA poll, Whitmer's favorability rating was 52% ― ahead of Donald Trump at 46% ― a position she's maintained for six years, winning re-election in 2022 by a comfortable margin. That presents a second challenge, Bitely said: "If he wants to be his own man, he has to separate himself from Whitmer, and that could potentially mean picking a less popular position." More from Freep Opinion: Who's the target of Trump's disdain? Often, it's women. Gilchrist doesn't see it that way. Instead, he said, he has an opportunity to build on what Whitmer has accomplished. "I'm really proud of what we've done," Gilchrist told me. "But the world has changed since 2018. We're in a different place, and we need a different set of skills to meet the moment." Gilchrist said he wants Michigan to be a state our kids won't want to leave. In the state he envisions, "You can be the professional you want to be, the person you want to be, in Michigan. And if that's true, then that means we've gotten a lot of other things right, too" ― like infrastructure, schools and a diversified economy. Whitmer has drawn fire from some progressive voters after last month's State of the State speech, in which Whitmer, who went head-to-head with Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic, said she was willing to work with the president. "If Gov. Whitmer, as the sitting governor, is doing what she believes she needs to do to protect the interests of the people of Michigan, I understand," Gilchrist said. "For me, this moment requires making sure that we understand, and, frankly, name the very specific harms that are either already here or on the horizon for the people of Michigan, with what I think have been reckless and irresponsible actions taken by this administration." Like cuts to the federal workforce ― about 60,000 Michiganders work for the federal government, including, until 2016, his father, who worked for the Department of Defense ― the Department of Education or threats to Medicaid or Social Security. "You do not achieve efficiency through destruction," he said. Gilchrist likes to say that his height ― he's 6-foot-8 ― is the second thing people notice about him. The first, of course, is that he's Black. He's Michigan's first Black lieutenant governor, and if he's elected, would become only the fourth Black man elected governor of a U.S. state. Think about that for a minute. But in his travels across Michigan's 83 counties, Gilchrist said, his race is not what has mattered most to Michiganders. "I've been Black my whole life. I'm going to be Black my whole life. That's true. What is also true is that people have respected that I've put in the work to actually come and meet them where they are, and say, 'This person is different from me, but this person is willing to understand, willing to engage.' And that's been my experience in real time," Gilchrist said. "People say, 'OK, you might be from downstate, but it does seem like you actually care. You can tell me who the largest employer is in Baraga County. And you were at the Keewanaw Bay Ojibwa Community College three weeks ago, meeting with us,' which is, down the street from Pettibone, which is their largest employer. ... I think if you meet people where they are ... you can build the trust that enables the person to open up and say, 'This is what's important to me, and this is what I need help with to be my best,' and then trust me to be the person to go home and do it." Of course, as Bitely reminded me, a lot can happen, when there are still 18 months before the 2026 election ― "In 2010," she said, "Rick Snyder essentially came out of nowhere." Let's hope, at least, it doesn't get that weird. Nancy Kaffer is the editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press. Contact: nkaffer@ Submit a letter to the editor at and we may publish it online and in print. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In race to succeed Whitmer, Gilchrist says he can unite Dems | Opinion
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pete Buttigieg decides against running for Michigan US senator or governor in 2026
Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday morning said he will not run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan or the governorship in the state next year. Posting on social media platform X, Buttigieg said, "I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race." "I remain enthusiastic about helping candidates who share our values — and who understand that in this moment, leadership means not only opposing today's cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative," Buttigieg continued in his posts. "While my own plans don't include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative." "The decisions made by elected leaders matter entirely because of how they shape our everyday lives — and the choices made in these years will decide the American people's access to freedom, security, democracy, and prosperity for the rest of our lifetimes," he said. Buttigieg, who lives in Traverse City, had been considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who announced in January that he would not seek a third six-year term in 2026. The former transportation secretary and former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who ran for president in 2020, was said by sources in late January to be looking seriously at entering the Senate race. He also had been looking at the possibility of running for governor, with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her second and final term. Polling had indicated Buttigieg could be a formidable candidate for the Senate seat as well, though a poll by EPIC-MRA of Lansing in early February had him trailing Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake, 47%-41%. Rogers lost a close election for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat last year to Democrat Elissa Slotkin and has said he is seriously considering entering the race again for the seat currently held by Peters. Other Democrats who have said they were looking at entering the race include U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham, a four-term congresswoman who worked for former President Barack Obama; U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, of Royal Oak, who has also given consideration to entering the governor's race. Potential Republican candidates include Rogers — whose campaign said this week that it was bringing on as a senior adviser Chris LaCivita, who served as co-chair of President Donald Trump's winning national campaign last year — and U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga of Holland Township, who is also looking at the race. Pundits have also made mention of state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Coldwater, as a possible candidate. Buttigieg clearly had been giving serious consideration to entering the race, with news outlets, including Politico, citing sources who said he met with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York in Washington in late February. An able communicator who often appears on cable TV and who has national name recognition, Buttigieg is also considered by political pundits to be considering another run for the White House in 2028. Recent polling has shown him to be among the top candidates under consideration for the Democratic nomination in 2028. Buttigieg is 43 years old and is from Indiana, his parents having taught at Notre Dame University. After attending Harvard and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, he worked for the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and later served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He and his spouse, Chasten Buttigieg, purchased a home in Traverse City a few years ago after Buttigieg became transportation secretary under former President Joe Biden to be closer to Chasten Buttigieg's family. The two adopted newborn twins in 2021. This story has been updated with new information. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Buttigieg won't run for Michigan US senator or governor in 2026
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poll shows latest job approval ratings for Trump, Whitmer
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A little more than two weeks into his second presidential term, a new poll shows President Donald Trump's overall job approval rating among Michigan residents. In the EPIC-MRA poll released Tuesday morning, 50% of respondents said they would give Trump an overall negative rating, with 40% saying he was doing a poor job and 10% just fair. Forty-five percent of those polled gave Trump an overall positive rating: 28% saying he was doing an excellent job and 17% pretty good. PDF: More poll results In the same poll, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's job rating was better, with 52% giving her an overall positive rating: 23% saying she was doing an excellent job and 29% pretty good. Forty-seven percent gave her an overall negative rating: 28% poor and 19% just fair. EPIC-MRA surveyed 600 people between Feb. 3 and Feb. 8. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. About 45% of respondents identified themselves as Republicans, 40% as Democrats and 12% as independents. Three percent said they were part of another party, were undecided or declined to answer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
