Former US President Donald Trump is leading his successor Joe Biden in Michigan and Georgia with broad majorities in the two crucial battleground states holding negative views of the sitting President’s job performance, policy positions and sharpness, according to the latest polls.
The CNN polls released on Monday revealed that in Georgia, a state Biden carried by a very narrow margin in 2020, registered voters say they prefer Trump (49 per cent) over Biden (44 per cent) for the presidency in a two-way hypothetical matchup.
In Michigan, which Biden won by a wider margin, Trump has 50 per cent support to Biden’s 40 per cent, with 10 per cent saying they wouldn’t support either candidate even after being asked which way they lean.
In both Michigan and Georgia, the share of voters who say they wouldn’t support either candidate is at least as large as the margin between Biden and Trump.
Overall, just 35 per cent in Michigan and 39 per cent in Georgia approve of Biden’s job performance, the surveys find, and majorities in both states say his policies have worsened economic conditions in the country (54 per cent in Georgia, 56 per cent in Michigan).
Most voters in both states say Biden, who’s 81, does not have the attributes they’re looking for in a president when it comes to his policy positions (57 per cent in Michigan, 56 per cent in Georgia), his ability to understand the problems of people like them (60 per cent in Michigan, 56 per cent in Georgia) or his sharpness and stamina (69 per cent in Michigan, 66 per cent in Georgia).
Fewer in each state say that Trump, who’s 77, falls short of their expectations for a President on those same measures.
But Trump fares worse than Biden on temperament – 57 per cent in Michigan and 58 57 per cent in Georgia say the former President doesn’t have the temperament they’re looking for, compared with about half who say the same about Biden.
Michigan will hold presidential primaries on February 27, 2024, while Georgia’s primaries are set for March 12.