Biden, Trump work to gain ground in Michigan, with polls showing swing states remain close
(CBS DETROIT) — With recent polls showing President Joe Biden has gained ground on former President Donald Trump in Michigan, both candidates are working to move the needle in the battleground state.
Both candidates have visited Michigan in the past few months to campaign for the election, and Trump is scheduled to make a stop in Grand Rapids on Tuesday, April 2.
The former president will address "Biden's border bloodbath," according to the release.
Biden recently visited Michigan's Saginaw County to garner support from voters, as turning that county blue in 2020 helped him secure Michigan in the election.
That county has a high proportion of Black and union-affiliated voters, but some African American community leaders expressed dismay following Biden's visit. They said he didn't meet with enough Black community members and skipped a planned visit to a Black church while in Saginaw.
Before making this visit, Biden administration officials visited Dearborn to meet with Muslim and Arab American leaders in an effort to repair ties with the community. More than 100,000 Michigan residents voted "uncommitted" in the Democratic primary in protest over the president's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Some other states have since seen even larger proportions of Democratic voters breaking toward "uncommitted" votes.
Meanwhile, Trump has also made visits to Michigan, most recently in February, where he held a rally in Oakland County ahead of the state's primary. He also urged Republican leaders to target Black voters in Detroit and other areas across Michigan.
"The president believes that there's a case to be made for reaching out to African American voters and Hispanic voters, whether it's in Saginaw or going into Wayne County or Muskegon, anywhere across the state," Michigan GOP chair Pete Hoekstra said.
Republican leaders in Michigan went to Florida to meet with Trump's campaign about their approach to winning Michigan in the election.
A new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll released on Tuesday found that Biden and Trump are tied in Michigan at 45% of voters each. This comes after a February poll showed Trump taking a lead (46%) over Biden (44%). In addition to closing the gap in Michigan, Biden also gained ground in other swing states, including Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The new polling suggested that Biden and Trump were tied in Pennsylvania, whereas previous polls showed Trump leading. In Wisconsin, Biden had moved ahead of Trump by one point, whereas Trump had previously taken the lead by four points.
The new polls still show Trump ahead of Biden in Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
