Polls out of Michigan remain mixed but show President Donald Trump falling behind Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden, with the latest HarrisX poll showing him with an 11-point lead.
And the fallout from the presidential race continues to impact the Senate race of John James.
Last week, the James camp celebrated the poll results of the Republican-friendly Trafalgar Group, which showed Republican James leading Democrat Sen. Gary Peters 48% to 47% statewide.
Though promising, it was the only poll of more than two dozen showing such a number for James.
The HarrisX poll last week had Peters leading James by seven points. The EPIC-MRA poll had Peters ahead by six points.
And just over a week ago, the respected Emerson College poll showed Peters up by 10 percentage points, 51% to 41%.
Despite press reports that the Trump campaign has all but written off Michigan, campaign operatives insist that's not the case.
Following Newsmax's report of a Trump pullout from Michigan, a campaign spokesman insisted this was not so, noting that there were 70 paid staffers on the ground and that both the president and Vice President Mike Pence would make appearances in the state, which they did in the last three days.
But our sources in Michigan insisted that the campaign had stopped almost all TV ads across the state.
As one former Republican officeholder who requested anonymity told us, "Trump TV has been gone for some time — no announcement [of writing off Michigan], but no ads. The small signs are not positive like they were four years ago. Legislative swing seat polling from 110 House seats, so each about 1% in 2016, was showing Trump strength in key districts. This time, it's not so much, and where he was losing four years ago, it is much, much worse."
The same former official said that in the Senate contest, "James is hurt by Trump's weakness, but he has been so good that he is running ahead of Trump."
Now Trump is apparently back in Michigan, at least making personal appearances, and James is in fighting condition.
"Trump can win Michigan, and James is in a great position to defeat Peters," said Saul Anuzis, former state Republican chairman and president of the 60 Plus Association.
"He laid the groundwork against [Debbie] Stabenow [in 2018], who was a stronger candidate."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.