Michigan Democratic voters were asked in a recent poll which Democratic candidate in the gubernatorial race they would vote for in the 2026 primary election.
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 in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
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The Democratic nominees for the Michigan gubernatorial race are Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: If the Democratic primary for Governor was held today, would you vote for Jocelyn Benson or Chris Swanson to be the Democratic nominee for Governor?
Benson: 71.7%
Swanson: 11.9%
Undecided: 16.4%
- Definitely Jocelyn Benson -- 51.5%
- Probably Jocelyn Benson -- 20.2%
- Definitely Chris Swanson -- 6.9%
- Probably Chris Swanson -- 5.0%
- Don’t Know/ Refused/ Other -- 16.4%
Name recognition of candidates, favorability
Here’s the exact wording of the question that was asked over the phone: I am going to read you the names of some people. For each, please tell me if you have ever heard of them and if you have heard of them, please tell me if you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of that person.
Jocelyn Benson
Name recognition: 88.9%
- Favorable -- 69.5%
- Unfavorable -- 8.1%
- No Opinion -- 11.3%
- Never heard of -- 10.7%
- Don’t Know/ Refused -- 0.4%
Chris Swanson
Name recognition: 48.5%
- Favorable -- 15.0%
- Unfavorable -- 9.1%
- No Opinion -- 24.4%
- Never heard of - 50.7%
- Don’t Know/ Refused -- 0.8%
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.