Press Release

What’s on the minds of persuadable voters in Michigan and Minnesota? That’s a question our professional canvassers recently asked voters in working-class communities. Our newest report on these two battleground states shares insights on hot button issues and how voters judge the current presidential administration. 

Knowing what these persuadable voters care about will be extremely important as we head into the 2020 presidential election. 

Michigan and Minnesota upheld their status as battleground states in the 2016 election. Michigan played a pivotal role in Donald Trump’s victory as it voted for a Republican president for the first time since 1988, shattering the so-called “Blue Wall.” While Minnesota has been a more consistently blue state (at least in presidential races), Trump lost by a razor-thin margin of just 1.52 percent.

Here’s what we learned from Michigan and Minnesota voters:

• While there are divisions between urban and rural areas, voters in these states are more often than not aligned in their support for a strong progressive agenda, creating an opening for Democrats.
• Michigan findings:
  • Healthcare is the top issue for voters in Monroe, Macomb and Wayne counties.
  • All three counties supported making it easier to join a union. 
  • There was a range of support for other policy proposals like the building the border wall, Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
• Minnesota findings:
  • Voters expressed broad support for making it easier to join a union, building on the Affordable Care Act, and the Green New Deal.
  • Like in Michigan, there has been a surge in voters naming health care as their top issue. While there was widespread support for building on the Affordable Care Act, voters expressed uncertainty about Medicare for All.

Learn more about our new findings here. This report builds on a broader Front Porch Focus Group report released in February, which you can read here.