Trump holds slight edge over Biden in crucial battleground state: poll

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A new poll in Michigan – one of the key states that may decide November's presidential election – indicates that former President Donald Trump holds a three-point advantage over President Biden.

According to a survey released Thursday by Quinnipiac University, Trump stands at 48% among registered voters in Michigan, with Biden at 45%, and eight percent undecided. 

In the head-to-head match up, independents favored Trump by a narrow 46%-42% margin. The poll was conducted March 8-12 (last Friday through Tuesday).

When third-party and independent candidates are included, the survey indicates Trump at 41%, Biden at 36%, Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 10%, Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 4%, and progressive independent Cornell West at 3%. Five percent were undecided.

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Photo illustrations of President Biden (left) and former President Donald Trump

The Quinnipiac poll was released as the president campaigned in the crucial Midwestern general election battleground state.

Since delivering a vigorous State of the Union address last week, Biden has stopped in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and now Michigan. He plans a trip to Nevada and Arizona next week. 

Biden narrowly edged Trump in all six of those states in the 2020 presidential election to win the White House.

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Biden and Trump clinched the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, as they swept primaries in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington State on Tuesday, becoming the major party 2024 presumptive nominees.

With over seven and a half months to go until Election Day on November 5, Trump currently enjoys the early edge in public opinion polling – in most national surveys and in many in the key battleground states.

President Joe Biden visits his Wisconsin election campaign office Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A Fox News poll in Arizona that was released on Wednesday indicated Trump topping Biden by four points, both in a two-way matchup and a five-way showdown that also includes Kennedy Jr., Stein and West. 

Trump edges Biden by two points, which is within the survey's sampling error, in a Fox News poll in Pennsylvania that was also released on Wednesday. The survey indicates that the two are deadlocked in a five-way matchup including Kennedy Jr., Stein, and West.

While third-party and independent candidates didn't play much of a role in the 2020 presidential election, they did in the 2016 showdown between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. And they may again in 2024.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a Super Tuesday election night party Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Biden-Trump rematch offers up stark contrasts when it comes to their styles and demeanors, and on where they stand on key issues, such as the economy, health care and entitlements, immigration, abortion, foreign policy, the war in Ukraine and America's overseas role going forward.

The 81-year-old Biden, who four years ago made history as the oldest American ever elected president, will continue to face questions about his mental and physical durability, even after last week's vigorous State of the Union address.

The president needs to show that he can energize younger voters, progressives, and Black and Latino Americans, who are all key parts of the Democratic base. Biden is also facing primary ballot box protests – materializing in "uncommitted" votes – over his support for Israel in its war in Gaza against Hamas.

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The former president is also dealing with plenty of problems. 

Trump, who last year made history as the first president or former president to face criminal charges, now faces four major trials and a total of 91 indictments – including federal cases on his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and on handling classified documents. There's also a $355 million civil fraud judgment that Trump is appealing. He will have to juggle his appearances in court with his time on the campaign trail. 

The 77-year-old Trump will also need to court the sizable block of Republican voters who backed Nikki Haley in the GOP nomination race. The former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor was Trump's last remaining rival before she ended her White House campaign last week. Haley's support is shining a spotlight on Trump's weakness with suburban and highly educated voters.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.