Former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden in Michigan and North Carolina in hypothetical head-to-head matchups and in a deeper field, according to a pair of Fox News polls published Thursday.
The Michigan poll, conducted under the direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research, found that 47 percent of registered voters back Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head race with Biden, who garners 45 percent of the response. The two-point lead for Trump falls within the poll’s plus or minus three percent margin of error.
This marks an 11-point swing toward Trump compared to a July 2020 Fox News Beacon Research and Shaw Company poll that had Biden ahead of him at 49 percent to 40 percent.
One percent of respondents would back someone else, three percent would not vote, and four percent are undecided in the latest poll.
When the field is expanded to include independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and independent Cornel West, Trump’s lead over Biden and the rest of the pack expands to five points.
Of the respondents, 42 percent would back Trump, and 37 percent would support Biden. Kennedy Jr. comes in third with 11 percent of the vote, followed by Stein at three percent and West at two percent.
In a hypothetical two-way race between Biden and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) – Trump’s last opponent of relevance in the race for the Republican nomination – Haley leads 43 percent to 42 percent. Three percent would back someone else, five percent would not vote, and seven percent are unsure of who they would back in that scenario.
However, Biden takes a nearly double-digit lead when he and Haley are pitted against a larger field, and she almost falls to third place behind Kennedy Jr. Biden takes 35 percent of the vote, to Haley’s 26 percent and Kennedy Jr.’s 23 percent. West and Stein tie at three percent, with three percent abstaining from voting and seven percent undecided.
The poll sampled 1,106 registered voters from February 8-12.
Trump has an even stronger advantage over Biden in North Carolina, where he garners 50 percent support in a race with just Biden, who takes 45 percent support. Just one percent would vote for someone else, two percent would sit the election out, and three percent are undecided. The five-point lead it outside the plus or minus three percent margin of error.
In the larger field, Trump’s support drops slightly, but his lead over Biden expands by four points. Of the respondents, 46 percent would vote for the 45th president, versus 37 percent who would support Biden. Kennedy Jr. failed to crack double-digits with eight percent, followed by Stein with two percent and West at one percent. Four percent of respondents are undecided.
Haley also leads Biden by five points in their two-way race, but she trails him with more opponents in the fray. Biden takes 33 percent to Haley’s 31 percent, while Kennedy surges to 19 percent. West and Stein each garner two percent in this scenario.
This North Carolina poll, also conducted under the direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research, was taken February 8-11 among 1,099 respondents.
A Fox News poll released earlier in February found Trump in a dead heat with Biden in Wisconsin, but leading him in a deeper field in the Badger state. Similarly, a separate Fox News poll showed Trump trouncing Biden in Georgia.