Michigan voters unmoved by Trump shooting, liberal pollster finds in new swing-state poll

DETROIT — Former President Donald Trump did not gain many sympathy votes in Michigan after being shot, according to a new survey from a Democratic pollster.

Public Policy Polling, a Democrat-affiliated firm, canvassed 731 Great Lakes State voters July 16 to 17 for liberal group Progress Michigan and included it in its Lake Effect newsletter, a monthly offering that “tracks public opinion about a variety of issues and political figures.”

One poll question: “This past weekend, there was an attempted shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally. No matter how you were planning to vote in the presidential election in November, does the attempted shooting of former President Trump change how you were planning to vote, or not?”

Only 5% of people said yes. The vast majority, 93%, said no, and 2% said they weren’t sure.

When Progress Michigan listed its key takeaways from the polling, the Trump question was not one of them.

Michael Traugott, University of Michigan Center for Political Studies emeritus research professor of political studies, said he was not surprised by the meager Trump bump. In a polarized environment, committed voters tend to stick with their parties, he said.

‘We’re in a period of very high political polarization, and the importance of party identification as a predictor of the vote has has been increasing recently,” Traugott told The Post. “If you were to look at the data from the 2020, exit polls, about 95% of Democrats voted for Joe Biden and about 95% of Republicans voted for Donald Trump. I think it’s pretty standard data.”

Where Trump was mentioned in the polling takeaways, it was related to a recent US Supreme Court decision that found presidents are immune from prosecution for “official acts.”

That ruling unraveled a federal case against Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Polling on the immunity ruling was split. Some 54% of people opposed it, while 38% supported it. The polling cohort tilted left.

While 39% of people polled were Democrats, only 32% were Republicans. Independents were 29% of the group.

By comparison, Democrats hold the Michigan House with a 56-54 edge, and the state Senate with a 20-18 edge. Real life is a much more even split.

Forty-nine percent of people took the poll via text and 51% on landline phones. Forty percent of those polled came from union families. Forty-nine percent voted for Biden in 2020, while 46% voted for Trump. Only 5% voted for someone else or did not vote.

Progress Michigan and Public Policy Polling did not respond to requests for comment.