New CNN Poll Shows Democrats Slightly Ahead in Two Crucial Senate Races

L: Screenshot via Troy Jackson on Facebook; R: AP Photo/Paul Sancya.

With majority control of the U.S. Senate hanging in the balance, Democrats have a slight edge in two critically important races in Michigan and Maine, according to the latest CNN poll.

The CNN/SSRS poll was conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6 among 843 likely voters in Michigan and 880 likely voters in Maine, via live telephone calls or online. The margin of error for the Michigan poll was +/- 4.1% and for the Maine sample it was +/- 3.7%.

In Michigan, 47% of poll respondents said they would vote for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate, and 44% picked the Republican, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI).

Maine voters had a similar slight preference for the Democrat Troy Jackson over the incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), 48% to 45%, respectively.

That three-point gap for both of those states is within the margins of error; CNN categorized both as “tight races with no clear leader.”

CNN’s report on the poll highlighted the heavy downward drag President Donald Trump was having in these two states, highlighting how both candidates “face political headwinds driven by economic concerns and negativity toward Trump,” specifically on issues that voters ranked as important to them:

The economy and cost of living is far and away the top issue in each state, and by a better than two-to-one margin, likely voters say they are worse off rather than better off compared with two years ago. Most also view the increased tariffs on Canadian goods with skepticism: less than 15% think the tariffs are a good thing and about two-thirds in each state – both of which border Canada – view the tariffs negatively.

The president “is deeply unpopular in both Maine and Michigan, with about two-thirds of voters in each state disapproving of his performance as president,” the poll showed, and that’s an even bigger problem for Republicans because of the enthusiasm gap between Trump’s supporters and his detractors.

“The people most likely to vote in each state say that they would prefer to see Democrats win control of the Senate after this fall’s midterm elections,” CNN reported. “Even among likely voters, Democrats in both states are far more motivated to vote than their Republican counterparts, mirroring a trend seen nationwide in this year’s midterm polling. Among the most motivated voters, Democrats lead handily in both states.”

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