‘Major Red Flag’: New Fox News Poll Sounds Alarm Bells In Michigan For Democrats

A new set of Fox News polls set of alarm bells for Democrats in Michigan’s key Senate race this week, while also highlighting how Republicans could lose their majority in the chamber.

“Tonight we have the first look at new Fox polling. The battle for Senate control in the midterms is leading to nationwide attention on really only a handful of races across the country that could decide the balance of power next year. Of course, Fox’s Alexis McAdams is in New York with a look at the new numbers. Good evening, Alexis,” began Fox’s chief political anchor Bret Baier on Thursday night.

“Bret, good evening. So, according to a brand new Fox News poll, Republicans have a slight edge in Michigan, in one of the most expensive and competitive Senate races in the country. So tonight, Republican Mike Rogers has 51 percent of the vote, and far-left Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has 47 percent. So Rogers has a four-point edge, which is still within the poll’s margin of error among Michigan’s registered voters,” McAdams reported, adding:

A major flash point in this race has been Israel. El-Sayed has campaigned on ending U.S. military aid, as Rogers stands with the country, but more than half of Michigan voters tell Fox they do not want to send more money to Israel. El-Sayed is accusing Rogers of being too afraid to debate him on stage, so he challenged him to a tackle football showdown. But in the past, El-Sayed blasted the sport — he compared American football, Bret, to the slave trade, a sport he says is just full of toxic masculinity.

Fox then cut to a clip of Rogers saying, “This guy is so wrong and so radical for our state. Once people know this, I think we’re going to be in good shape going into November.”

“Republicans have an edge in Michigan, and Democrats could pick up a Senate seat in Ohio, where Sherrod Brown now leads Republican Senator John Husted by eight points,” McAdams continued, adding:

And the economy is the top issue for voters heading into November in all these key Senate races, including in the state of Maine, where a Fox News poll shows Democratic Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson with a narrow lead over Republican Senator Susan Collins — even as Senate Republicans blast Jackson over a recently resurfaced police report that details a violent night back in 1988, when officers say Jackson kicked open someone’s door in Maine and punched him in the face. That same night, his longtime partner, who is also reportedly his second cousin, told investigators he pushed her around — something the couple both denied.

Fox’s recent polling has Democrats up in other key swing states needed to win the majority, including in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, and Ohio. The Michigan poll also showed the Democratic Party candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson beating Republican John James by 5 points, 52% to 47%.

The poll set off alarm bells for many pundits and observers.

Veteran political journalist Sam Stein reacted, “Kind of telling about the psyche of the parties to see the very intense Dem worry about the Fox News poll of Michigan (rightful worry, i should add) but not much on the GOP side about the Fox News poll of Ohio with Brown over Husted by a far more significant margin.”

Washington Monthly politics editor Bill Scher added, “Fox poll of MI has Dem a winning Governor (Benson) by 5 and losing Senate (El-Sayed) by 4. It’s one poll & it’s early but it tracks others. Major red flag. Team AES cannot assume what barely worked in the primary is gonna work now. It’s pivot time.”

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