In a hypothetical head-to-head against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Trump’s lead did not hold up. He trailed the 52-year-old Whitmer by 4 percentage points, 45 to 49 percent. The finding underscores the pitfalls for Democrats of fielding an unpopular 81-year-old incumbent president as their nominee.

The poll surveyed 600 likely general election voters in Michigan and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. It was conducted for The Detroit News and Michigan station WDIV-TV.

“If I were a Democrat in Michigan, I would be breaking the emergency fire alarms in the White House and demanding to know what the plan is for Michigan,” Richard Czuba, founder of Glengariff Group,
told the News. “Because these numbers are very bad for any incumbent of any party.”

California governor Gavin Newsom also performed better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup with Trump, but still trailed the former president. Forty percent of respondents said they would vote for Newsom compared to 45 percent for Trump.