Poll: What sways Michigan Democrats to vote for a candidate in U.S. Senate primary

Michigan Democratic voters were asked in a recent poll how they felt about the 2026 U.S. Senate primary election in the state and the current Democratic candidate’s views.

A poll conducted by WDIV/Detroit News asked Democratic voters from across the state about their opinions on various topics in the 2026 primary election. A portion of these questions focused on the Democratic candidates running in the 2026 U.S. Senate primary election.

The Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate in Michigan are Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens.

Here are the results:

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer favorability

• Favorable -- 87.5%
• Unfavorable -- 8.5%
• No Opinion -- 4.0%
• Never heard of -- 0.0%
• Don’t know/refused -- 0.0%

Senate endorsement from Governor

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would an endorsement from Gretchen Whitmer in the US Senate race make you more or less likely to vote for one of the Senate candidates, or would it have no impact on you?

More -- 34.4%

Less -- 1.4%

No impact -- 63.2%

• Much more likely -- 15.2% 
• Little more likely -- 19.2% 
• Little less likely -- 1.0% 
• Much less likely -- 0.4%
• Have no impact on me -- 63.2% 
• Don’t Know/ Depends/ Refused -- 1.0%

Views on Democratic Socialists

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you say you have a favorable or an unfavorable view of Democratic Socialists of America?

Favorable: 57.6%

Unfavorable: 14.8%

Neutral/no opinion: 27.6%

• Very favorable -- 25.5% 
• Somewhat favorable -- 32.1%
• Somewhat unfavorable -- 9.5%
• Very unfavorable -- 5.3%
• Neutral/ No Opinion/ Don’t Know/ Refused -- 27.6%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you say you would or would not vote for a candidate that called themselves a Democratic Socialist?

• Would vote -- 54.1%
• Would not vote -- 16.4%
• Don’t Know/ Depends -- 26.5%
• Refused -- 3.0%

Vote favorability on views

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you say you have a favorable or an unfavorable view of AIPAC otherwise known as the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee?

Favorable: 11.7%

Unfavorable: 49.3%

Neutral/no opinion: 39.0%

• Very favorable -- 1.8%
• Somewhat favorable -- 9.9%
• Somewhat unfavorable -- 15.0%
• Very unfavorable -- 34.3%
• Neutral/ No Opinion/ Don’t Know/ Refused -- 39.0% 

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate that was supported with corporate pac money, or does the issue make no difference to you?

More: 2.4%

Less: 59.4%

No difference: 33.3%

• Much more likely -- 0.8%
• Little more likely -- 1.6%
• Little less likely -- 17.6%
• Much less likely -- 41.8%
• Makes no difference -- 33.3%
• Don’t Know/ Depends/ Refused -- 4.9%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate that was supported by AIPAC, or does the issue make no difference to you?

More: 3.0%

Less: 40.6%

No difference: 47.1%

• Much more likely -- 0.6%
• Little more likely -- 2.4%
• Little less likely -- 10.7%
• Much less likely -- 29.9%
• Makes no difference -- 47.1%
• Don’t Know/ Depends/ Refused -- 9.3%

Views on Middle East war

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: I want to ask you a few questions about the situation in the Middle East. Do you support or oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza?

Support: 63.3%

Oppose: 14.8%

Don’t know/Depends: 21.9%

• Strongly support -- 45.3%
• Somewhat support -- 18.0%
• Somewhat oppose -- 8.1%
• Strongly oppose -- 6.7%
• Depends/ Don’t Know/ Refused -- 21.9%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Do you support or oppose Israel’s right to exist as a country?

Support: 76.8%

Oppose: 11.4%

Don’t know/Depends: 11.8%

• Strongly support -- 47.3%
• Somewhat support -- 29.5%
• Somewhat oppose -- 5.5%
• Strongly oppose -- 5.9%
• Depends/ Don’t Know/ Refused -- 11.8%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Would you say Israel’s actions against Hamas and Hezbollah have gone too far, not far enough, or would you say their actions have been about right?

• Gone too far -- 69.7%
• Not far enough -- 2.8%
• About right -- 12.7%
• Don’t Know/ Refused -- 14.8%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: Over the past two years, would you say antisemitism against Jewish Americans in the United States has increased, decreased or stayed about the same?

• Increased -- 64.6%
• Decreased -- 3.0%
• Stayed about the same -- 23.6%
• Don’t Know/ Refused -- 8.8%

Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: When you think of all the different issues you will consider in choosing a Senate nominee, on a scale of one to ten how important or not important is a candidate’s position on Gaza and Israel compared to all those other issues you will consider? One means their position on Gaza and Israel is not at all important compared to other issues and ten means it is extremely important. You can choose any number between one and ten.

Score: 5.6

Poll methodology

WDIV and the Detroit News commissioned a survey of likely Democratic voters in the August 2026 primary election in Michigan. The poll was conducted by The Glengariff Group, Inc.

It was a 500-sample, live-operator telephone survey that was conducted on July 8 through July 11, 2026.

The margin of error is +/-4.4%, and there is a 95% level of confidence.

Of the respondents, 17.4% of respondents were called via landline telephone, and 82.6% were called on a cellphone.