Michigan voters more optimistic about the state of the state and the country than in 2019
Trump’s job approval at an even split while Whitmer’s approvals sky-rocket
LANSING, Mich. – Recent statewide polling shows Michigan voters are more optimistic about the current direction of the state than they were just five months ago. When asked about the direction of Michigan, 50 percent of voters believe the state is headed in the right direction. Thirty-two percent believe the opposite. A poll conducted in October showed a split electorate with 41 percent of voters believing Michigan was on the right track and 42 percent believing Michigan was on the wrong track.
On the national level, 39 percent of Michigan voters believe the nation is on the right direction while 52 percent believe the country is generally on the wrong track. These numbers on national sentiment have improved since the 2019 Fall poll which showed 31 percent believing the country was headed in the right direction and 59 percent believing the country was on the wrong track.
“Amidst the growing concerns surrounding COVID-19, the sentiments about where the state and country are headed have improved over the past five months,” said Jenell Leonard, Owner of MRG. “Our recent polling has shown the public believes the government is taking adequate steps to address COVID-19, which will continue to impact voters’ outlook.”
Voters Split on the President
Trump’s job approvals are at an even split with 45 percent of voters approving of his job performance and 45 percent disapproving. This is a slight net increase compared to the 44 percent that approved of the president’s job performance back in October and the 49 percent who disapproved.
The president’s personal approvals have improved slightly from the fall poll, but remain lower than his job approvals. Forty-one percent of voters rate their personal feelings towards the president as positive compared to the 48 percent who share a negative feeling towards him.
These personal approvals are improved from the October poll where 37 percent of the voters had a positive opinion of him and 53 percent held a negative opinion.
The president received his highest positive job approval ratings from voters in Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, Macomb County, West Michigan and the counties surrounding the Detroit metro area (Lapeer, Monroe, Livingston and St. Clair). He received overall negative approval ratings from voters in Wayne County (especially Detroit) and the Flint, Saginaw, and Bay City region. Voters in Oakland County and mid-Michigan were split on the President’s job approval.
Statewide elected sentiment
Governor Whitmer’s job approval ratings have improved significantly over the past five months. In October, 42 percent approved of the governor’s job performance and today 60 percent approve. Her negative approvals have dropped from 34 percent in October to 22 percent today.
Like the president, the governor’s job approval is stronger than her personal approval. When asked to rate their feelings about the governor the results showed 44 percent positive and 24 percent negative. These numbers have also improved since the October poll which showed an even split of 34 percent positive and 34 percent negative.
“President Trump’s net job approval is improving and the Governor’s handling of the Coronavirus issue appears to be defining her job approval in a positive way,” said Tom Shields, Senior Advisor at MRG. “Historically, the public has rallied around government leadership in catastrophic times. The President and the Governors continued handling of the COVID-19 issue will continue to shape and define their approvals moving forward.”
The Questions and Results
The results and the wording of the questions asked by MRG follow.
Right Track/Wrong Track
Q. Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track?
Right direction ……………………………………………. 39 %
Wrong track …………………………………………………. 52 %
Don’t know ………………………………………………………. 9 %
Refused ……………………………………………………………… 1 %
Q. And, thinking about things in Michigan . . . do you feel things in the State of Michigan are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track?
Right direction ……………………………………………. 50 %
Wrong track …………………………………………………. 32 %
Don’t know …………………………………………………… 18 %
Refused …………………………………………………………… 0.3%
Job Approval Ratings
Q. In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job President Trump is doing as president? [IF APPROVE / DISAPPROVE, ASK:] Would that be strongly (approve / disapprove) or just somewhat (approve / disapprove)?
Strongly approve ……………………………………… 31 %
Somewhat approve ………………………………….. 14 %
Neither approve / disapprove …………….. 9 %
Somewhat disapprove ………………………….. 10 %
Strongly disapprove ……………………………….. 35 %
Don’t know ………………………………………………………. 1 %
Refused …………………………………………………………… 0.2%
TOTAL APPROVE: ………………………………………. 45 %
TOTAL DISAPPROVE: ………………………………. 45 %
Q. In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Governor Whitmer is doing as Governor? [IF APPROVE / DISAPPROVE, ASK:] Would that be strongly (approve / disapprove) or just somewhat (approve / disapprove)?
Strongly approve ……………………………………… 21 %
Somewhat approve …………………………………. 39 %
Neither approve / disapprove ………… 15 %
Somewhat disapprove ………………………………. 9%
Strongly disapprove ……………………………….. 13 %
Don’t know ………………………………………………………. 4 %
Refused …………………………………………………………… 0.2%
TOTAL APPROVE: ………………………………………. 60 %
TOTAL DISAPPROVE:……………………………….. 22 %
Personal Approval Ratings
Q. Now, I’m going to read you the names of some people in the news, and I’d like you to rate your feelings toward each one as very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative. If you don’t know the name, please just say so.
| Very Pos | Somewhat Pos | Neutral | Somewhat Neg | Very Neg | Never Heard Of | Don’t Know | Ref | |
| Donald Trump | 29.4 | 11.1 | 10.6 | 7.1 | 40.7 | 0 | .7 | .3 |
| Gretchen Whitmer | 18.4 | 25.2 | 27.9 | 10.1 | 13.9 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 0 |
Total Positive Total Negative
Donald Trump 41% 48%
Gretchen Whitmer 44% 24%
MRG Michigan Poll® Spring 2020
The survey of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted by live interview March 16-19, 2020. The sample was randomly drawn from a listed sample of all registered voters with a history of voting and stratified by city and township to reflect voter turnout. 30% of the sample was conducted with cell phone users. In addition, quotas for gender and cell phone interviews were met within each geographic area, and extra efforts were made to reach African Americans. Thirty percent of the interviews were conducted with cell phone only or cell phone dominant
households. Some columns may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
A sample of 600 likely voters in Michigan yields a sampling margin of error of ±4 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval. The sampling margin of error for subgroups may be higher depending on the size of the subgroup.
About Marketing Resource Group
Lansing, Michigan-based Marketing Resource Group (www.mrgmi.com) is an award-winning PR firm representing corporate, association, nonprofit, and private clients with interests in Michigan. MRG offers expertise in public affairs, communications, political campaign management, and public opinion survey research. For more than thirty years, MRG has conducted its bi-annual omnibus Michigan Poll®, tracking the pulse of Michigan voters on key statewide public policy and political issues. MRG is the only Michigan public opinion survey research firm that maintains nearly 30 years of trend analyses of voter attitudes related to state and national leaders, political parties, and the political and economic climate in Michigan.
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