Political experts have deemed Michigan a “swing state,” not knowing which way it’s going to vote in this year’s presidential election. They say President Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump will need to focus on key issues and target specific groups in order to get the proverbial pendulum swinging in their direction.
Dante Chinni directs the American Communities Project at Michigan State University and says Biden, a favorite in the past, may be in trouble this time around.
“They voted for Joe Biden because they want to change,” Chinni said. “They have not seen the amount of change that they thought they’d see. That doesn’t mean, like, so now we’re going to go back to Trump. But what it does mean, I think for a lot of them is just, ‘We thought we’d see more change. We’re not seeing a lot of change. I’m just not interested in voting in the election.’ I think that’s the real fear.”
Chinni says younger voters may be turned off by the U.S. government’s position on the Israel-Hamas war, which also affects Arab American voters.
As for Trump, Chinni says turnout from areas that many people don’t think about will be key will actually make a difference.
From 1992 through 2012, Michigan voted Democrat. However, in 2016 the state voted Republican. Then in 2020, it went back to Democrat.
