Michigan voters significantly less optimistic about direction of state and country since March

Growing concern of president and governor’s job performance   

LANSING, Mich. – More Michigan residents believe the state is headed in the wrong direction than believe it is on the right track in a recent statewide poll, a reversal from the same poll conducted in March. Asked last week, 45 percent of voters believe the state is on the wrong track, while just 44 percent of voters believe otherwise. In March, those believing the state was on the wrong track represented just 32 percent, while 50 percent believed the state was heading in the right direction.

Voters’ sentiment about the direction of the country has also soured over the past six months. Sixty-six percent of voters believe the country is on the wrong track, compared to 52 percent of those polled in March. Twenty-five percent of voters believe the country is heading in the right direction, compared to the 39 percent that believed the same in March.

“Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and only six weeks from a historic election, it is clear voters have lost confidence in the direction of our nation,” said Jenell Leonard, Owner of MRG. “They continue to have more confidence in the direction of our state, although that belief is beginning to wane as well.”

Gaps Grow on President’s Job Performance and Approvals

There is a seven-point spread in the president’s job performance ratings where 44 percent approve and 51 percent disapprove. The March MRG Michigan Poll® showed Trump’s job approvals at an even split with 45 percent of voters approving of his job performance and 45 percent disapproving.

The spread on the president’s personal approvals nearly doubled since March, with the most recent poll showing a 13-point spread with 40 percent showing positive feelings towards the president compared to 53 percent who share a negative feeling. The March poll resulted in 41 percent of voters rating their personal feelings towards the president as positive compared to the 48 percent who shared a negative feeling towards him.

The president received his highest positive job approval ratings from voters in Northern Michigan, West Michigan, and the Flint, Saginaw, Bay City region. He received overall negative approval ratings from voters in Wayne County, Oakland County, and Mid-Michigan.

Growing Concern over Governor’s Performance while Personal Approval Remains High

Governor Whitmer’s job approval ratings have tightened in comparison to the March poll going from a thirty-eight point spread back in March to a twenty point spread today. Fifty-eight percent of voters approve of the governor’s job performance compared to 60 percent back in March. Those who disapprove of the governor’s job performance grew from 22 percent in March to 38 percent today.

When asked to rate their feelings about the governor, the results show 50 percent of voters share positive feelings about the governor and 40 percent negative. This is compared to the March poll that showed 44 percent positive and 24 percent negative.

“Despite more than 180 executive orders and legal challenges, the governor seems to have solidified a strong base that approves of her job performance during the pandemic,” said Leonard. “However, as more undecided citizens continue to form an opinion, they increasingly do not support her job performance.”

The Questions and Results

The results and the wording of the questions asked by MRG follow.

Right Track/Wrong Track

Q.  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 ……………………………….  44 %

            Wrong track …………………………………..  45 %

            Don’t know ……………………………………  10 %

            Refused ……………………………………………  1%

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 ……………………………….  25 %

            Wrong track …………………………………..  66 %

            Don’t know ……………………………………..  9 %

            Refused …………………………………………..  1 %

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 ……………………………  33 %

            Somewhat approve …………………………. 12 %

            Neither approve / disapprove ……………. 4 %

            Somewhat disapprove ………………………  5 %

            Strongly disapprove ……………………….  45 %

            Don’t know ……………………………………..  1 %

            Refused …………………………………………..  0 %

            TOTAL APPROVE: ………………………. 44 %

            TOTAL DISAPPROVE: ………………… 51 %

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 ……………………………  39 %

            Somewhat approve …………………………  19 %

            Neither approve / disapprove ……………  4 %

            Somewhat disapprove ………………………  8 %

            Strongly disapprove ……………………….  30 %

            Don’t know ……………………………………..  0 %

            Refused …………………………………………..  0 %

            TOTAL APPROVE: ………………………. 58 %

            TOTAL DISAPPROVE:…………………. 38 %

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	31.2	8.5	7	3.8	48.7	0	.2	.7
Gretchen Whitmer	35.7	13.8	9.3	8.7	31.2	0	1.2	.2

Total Positive              Total Negative

Donald Trump                                                40%                            53%

Gretchen Whitmer                               50%                            40%

MRG Michigan Poll® Fall 2020

The survey of 600 likely Michigan voters was conducted by live interview September 14-19, 2020 with a +4 Dem sample. The survey 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. In addition, quotas for gender and cell phone interviews were met within each geographic area, and extra efforts were made to reach African Americans. Forty 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. Individual rounding may impact final totals.

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, LLC (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 30 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.