Former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden in a two-way race and in a deeper field in the swing state of Michigan as the general election begins, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
The poll, published Thursday, finds that 48 percent of the self-identified registered voter responders support Trump in a two-way race with Biden, who draws 45 percent of support.
Another two percent would sit out the election, and three percent would be undecided in a strictly head-to-head race between the presumptive nominees.
Independents break for Trump at a rate of 46 to 42 percent. He also enjoys leads among every age demographic except respondents 65 or older; 57 percent of those voters support Biden, while 38 percent back Trump.
The 45th president leads Biden 48 to 43 percent among Michigan voters aged 18-34 and is dominating among the 35-49 demographic. He has a 21-point advantage among these voters at 55 percent to Biden’s 34 percent. Biden trails by 11 points in the 50-64 demographic, as he draws 43 percent to the 45th president’s 54 percent.
Trump’s edge expands when third-party candidates are factored into the mix. He leads the pack in a five-way race with 41 percent of support, followed by Biden at 36 percent. From there, independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. takes 10 percent, Green Party candidate Jill Stein carries four percent, and three percent back independent Cornel West.
Quinnipiac University sampled 1,487 “self-identified registered voters” in the Wolverine State from March 8-12. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Trump’s lead in Michigan comes as Biden and Trump have clinched their respective parties’ nominations in the delegate count, and polling in recent days has shown Trump ahead in other swing states.
For instance, a pair of Fox News polls released Wednesday evening found Trump up on Biden in head-to-head races in Arizona and Pennsylvania, though his lead in Pennsylvania falls within the ± three percentage point margin of error. Trump maintains his edge over Biden in a deeper field in Arizona, but they tie in a five-way race in the Keystone State.