AUSTIN, TX - Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer fiercely rejected polls giving Vice President Kamala Harris a sizable lead over former President Trump, declaring "it's just not true."
"It makes me nervous to see any poll that says there's a five-point lead for Kamala Harris in Michigan now. It's just not true," Whitmer said Thursday at the Texas Tribune Festival.
"It's gonna be a very close race. I believe we can win it. And I believe we wlll, but it's gonna be very close," Whitmer added.
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Whitmer was referring to a CNN poll released this week that showed Harris having a five-point advantage over Trump.
"In Michigan right now, we have Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and we have three other people on the ballot. CNN didn't test for that," Whitmer said. "And that's why, as we see these polls, I'm telling everyone, don't get comfortable on any. You can't sleep on Michigan."
However, the CNN poll did include three other candidates, showing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with 4% (he has dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump while fighting to remove his name from Michigan's ballot), Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver with 1% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein with 0%.
Whitmer stressed the impact of third-party candidates, particularly regarding Stein during the 2016 election.
"In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump by 11,000 votes. Jill Stein was also on our ballot and earned more than 11,000 votes," Whitmer said.
The governor was asked what makes Michigan such a swing state.
"One of the wonderful strengths about Michigan and one of the challenges is we are the most diverse swing state in the country," Whitmer responded. "Michigan benefited from the auto industry and brought people from the South, from the Middle East- people came from all around the globe for a job on the line at Ford Motor Company or General Motors. And it was a guarantee to the middle class where you could take care of your family, could even buy a place up north because you were paid a salary that can sustain a family and a good quality of life."
She added, "And so that's kind of how our population grew over the years. And that's part of who we are. We are a microcosm of the country."
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"And I do think, you know, in Michigan over my lifetime, we take big swings. We've had 12 years of a Republican governor, and then we have term limits so eight years of a Democrat, then eight years of a Republican, then eight years of a Democrat. So it is a state that is notoriously kind of independent. We split our ticket a lot. And that's who we are in Michigan," Whitmer continued.
"And I think that's is a great strength. I think it's important to have robust dialogue and different points of view. And I think that over the years that has served us well. I do think right now, with all the different pressures that are happening in our political rhetoric and with social media, etc., that it makes it a lot more challenging to find that common ground. And that's something that I'm concerned about," the governor added.
Trump does have a history of overperforming on Election Day in comparison to the polls.
In 2020, the RealClearPolitics average of polls in Michigan showed President Biden beating Trump by more than four points but ended up winning by less than three. Similarly in 2016, the RealClearPolitics average of polls had Clinton up by nearly four points in Michigan against Trump. Trump ended up winning by 0.3 points.
