MSU Survey: Harris Leading in Michigan
Survey Shows Harris Leading Despite Being Perceived as Further Left than Biden
EAST LANSING, Mich., October 24, 2024- A new survey released today by Michigan State University (MSU) shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump 52.3% to 47.7% in the battle for Michigan's 15 electoral votes. Despite the Vice President's lead, the survey shows that Michigan voters perceive Harris as more liberal than incumbent President Joe Biden. It additionally shows that Trump is perceived as the more moderate candidate. Trump is also currently in line with his past Michigan results from 2016 and 2020, in which he won and lost the state, respectively.
"Michigan voters are closely divided in this high-stakes presidential election, offering both parties opportunities to win the state," said Dr. Matt Grossmann, Director of the Instate for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU (IPPSR). Grossmann continued, "Michigan voters collectively place Kamala Harris to the ideological left of Elissa Slotkin and Joe Biden. The differences are not large, but they are enough to place the average voter closer to Trump & Slotkin."
The data was gathered as a part of the State of the State Survey (SOSS), which has been conducted by the Office for Survey Research (OSR) and the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University since 1994. The current survey was completed as a YouGov panel survey with data collection from September 23 to October 10, 2024. 1,240 interviews were completed. After calibrating the data to assign weights, the final dataset consisted of 1,000 cases, including 845 voters who said they were likely to vote.
The survey consists of likely voters, with undecided voters being asked to choose between Trump, Harris, or the option to give another candidate's name. The option to give another candidate's name changed the numbers to Harris 50.8% and Trump 46.4%
OSR /IPPSR conducts the State of the State Survey for research purposes and will follow up with complete results at a later date. To view the survey's election report, please click here
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