Poll shows Democrats lead in Michigan governor, Senate

A new Michigan State University survey shows Democrats leading in two of Michigan’s highest-profile 2026 races, adding to a series of recent polls that have shown similar advantages for the party’s nominees for governor and U.S. Senate.

According to results released Sept. 1 by MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of Detroit leads U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township in the race for governor, 52% to 43% among likely voters.

The Detroit Free Press reported that in the contest for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, former Wayne County and Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor leads former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake, 50% to 45%.

The findings come from MSU’s State of the State Survey, a long-running public opinion project that has been conducted continuously since 1994. Interviews were conducted Aug. 10-20 by MSU’s Office of Survey Research and IPPSR using a YouGov online panel designed to match a representative sample of Michigan’s population. The survey included 1,000 Michigan adults, 913 registered voters and 779 likely voters.

IPPSR said the margin of error for the likely voter sample is expected to be plus or minus 4 percentage points when compared with similar-sized general population surveys. The institute did not release all data tied to the broader survey, which includes multiple questions, but said it typically makes additional results available later.

The MSU poll follows an EPIC-MRA survey released over the weekend that also showed Benson and El-Sayed ahead. That poll found each Democrat leading by 4 percentage points after interviews with 600 likely voters Aug. 22-28. Its margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points. 

A proposed Michigan constitutional amendment requiring voters to prove their U.S. citizenship remained in legal limbo this week as supporters asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene before the state finalizes its Nov. 3 ballot.

According to Bridge Michigan, Americans for Citizen Voting is seeking an emergency injunction ordering state officials to place the proposal on the ballot after the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 on certification Aug. 24. The Michigan Supreme Court also has been asked to intervene but had not ruled as of Sept. 2.

The group submitted more than 709,000 petition signatures in March and needed 446,198 valid signatures.

A Michigan Bureau of Elections review of a 1,000-signature sample initially found 612 valid signatures. After challenges and affidavits, supporters persuaded canvassers that at least 626 should count, still short of the 629 needed under the state’s sampling formula.

Americans for Citizen Voting asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for emergency relief, arguing that further delay could prevent the measure from reaching voters. Kavanaugh directed the Board of State Canvassers, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Elections Director Jonathan Brater to respond.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, representing the state officials, urged the court to reject the request, calling the proposed injunction highly unusual and arguing that supporters had not adequately addressed the number of signatures state officials found invalid.

The dispute also has drawn scrutiny from Michigan House Republicans. House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, announced a seven-member select committee to investigate the petition review process, arguing Republican-backed ballot efforts face inconsistent treatment. State election officials disputed that characterization and said the same sampling procedures have been used for decades.

If approved by voters, the amendment would require new voters to prove citizenship when registering and could require existing voters to do so if the state could not independently verify their status.  

An independent audit of Michigan’s voter registration system found the state maintains accurate voter records, while identifying a comparatively small number of registrations involving possible noncitizens, deceased voters and questionable birthdates.

According to Votebeat, reporting published by Bridge Michigan, the Office of the Auditor General found 99.99% of the roughly 8.3 million voters in Michigan’s Qualified Voter File had complete and valid personal information required under state law. The audit also found state and local election officials regularly update the rolls, with nearly 1 million registrations canceled for permissible reasons between Jan. 1, 2022, and March 30, 2026.

The review found 403 registrations were rejected or canceled for citizenship-related reasons during that period. Those cases included people who indicated on registration forms that they were not citizens, along with applicants whose citizenship could not be confirmed. Another 347 registrations were canceled because a voter had “registered in error,” although the audit did not specify how many of those involved citizenship.

The report did not determine whether registrants flagged as potential noncitizens had cast ballots.

Separately, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges in August against five noncitizens accused of voting illegally in the 2024 election.

Auditors also examined ballots linked to people listed as deceased before Election Day. They identified 2,582 such ballots since 2022, but 2,561 were early or absentee ballots cast by voters who died within 40 days before the election. Michigan law requires officials to make a best effort to reject absentee ballots when they learn a voter died before Election Day, although reporting delays can complicate that process.

The audit additionally found 653 registered voters with birthdates indicating they were older than 122 and 73 younger than 17½. The Department of State said some records may reflect data-entry errors or placeholder birth years used when older paper records were converted to electronic files.

Auditors also discovered that state reports had overstated automatic voter registrations linked to driver’s licenses and state IDs. The department said the problem involved a reporting script rather than the underlying voter data and has since corrected it.

Michigan State University offered football and basketball tickets to more than 100 lawmakers, legislative aides, budget analysts and state government officials over a one-year period, raising questions about compliance with Michigan’s restrictions on gifts from lobbyists.

According to The Detroit News, internal university emails showed that basketball tickets were commonly offered without charge through MSU’s government relations office, which is registered to lobby state government.

Michigan policy generally prohibits lobbyists from giving covered public officials gifts worth more than $79.

The university maintained that its basketball tickets were typically worth less than the threshold, but The News reported that some high-profile games appeared to have significantly higher market values.

For a Jan. 30, 2026, game between Michigan State and Michigan, for example, resale tickets reportedly started at about $149 each. MSU offered state Rep. Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw, two tickets and told his staff they would be complimentary because the university valued each ticket below the lobbying limit.

MSU spokeswoman Amber McCann said the university valued basketball tickets at $55 each and invoiced officials when ticket costs exceeded the legal threshold. The News reported that a 2024 Secretary of State interpretive statement says gifts should be valued at fair market value rather than face value.

Records showed at least 42 lawmakers planned to accept MSU tickets during 2025, while 87 lawmakers, legislative staff members or Whitmer administration employees accepted or planned to accept tickets. Football tickets were generally handled differently, with officials asked to pay before attending.

The issue is particularly notable because lawmakers determine state funding for Michigan State. The university has an annual budget of about $3.8 billion, with roughly 11% coming from direct state appropriations.

House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, was among those offered multiple tickets. His spokesman said Hall reimbursed MSU for all games he attended in 2025, though The News reported neither Hall’s office nor MSU provided documentation of those payments.

The records also showed tickets were offered to fiscal analysts and executive branch officials involved in state budgeting. Some officials declined invitations or ultimately did not attend.