Trump At 30%, Whitmer Hits Record 55% Job Disapproval In EPIC-MRA Poll

Article courtesy of MIRS for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has fallen to 30%, another record low in EPIC-MRA polling, while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is posting the highest job disapproval number of her governorship.

The Aug. 22-28 EPIC-MRA survey of 600 likely November voters found 67% giving Trump a negative job rating, including 51% who rated his performance “poor.” Only 11% called Trump’s performance excellent and another 19% said pretty good. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Trump’s 30% positive rating is down from the record-low 33% EPIC-MRA measured in June. His 67% negative rating is also up from 63% in June.

Whitmer’s numbers aren’t nearly as bleak, but they’re heading in the same direction.

Only 41% of those surveyed gave Whitmer a positive job rating, compared to 55% who rated her performance negatively. That’s down from a 51%-48% positive rating in EPIC-MRA’s November 2025 survey and 43%-53% in March.

Based on EPIC-MRA polling compiled by MIRS going back to the beginning of Whitmer’s administration, the 55% negative rating is the highest she’s received as governor. Her 41% positive rating is also her lowest since March 2019, when the newly inaugurated governor had a 36% positive rating and nearly one-quarter of voters were still undecided about her performance.

As recently as February and May 2025, Whitmer was sitting at 52% positive. That means she’s lost 11 percentage points of positive job approval in roughly a year and a half.

In that time frame, she vetoed the nine bills leftover from the 2023-24 session, attended a data center grand opening and didn’t push through emergency funding for Planned Parenthood.

Interestingly, Whitmer’s personal image remains considerably stronger than her job rating. Forty-eight percent have a favorable opinion of her and 42% have an unfavorable opinion. Trump is viewed favorably by 34% and unfavorably by 57%.

The political environment reflected in the survey isn’t especially friendly to Republicans, either. Only 12% of respondents said the national economy has improved during the past year, while 63% said it has gotten worse and 23% said it has remained about the same.

In the gubernatorial race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson led Republican nominee John James, 45%-41%, with 14% undecided. When EPIC-MRA allocated undecided voters based on their partisan leanings, Benson’s advantage remained four points, 48%-44%.

The U.S. Senate contest was similarly close. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed led Republican Mike Rogers, 47%-43%, with 10% undecided. EPIC-MRA’s partisan simulation put the race at 50% El-Sayed and 45% Rogers.

Perhaps the most eye-opening policy result in the survey, however, was on Medicare for all.

Sixty-two percent of likely voters said they support “a national health insurance program, often called Medicare for all,” that would provide health care to all Americans and replace most private health insurance plans. Only 31% opposed the concept.

More significantly, 43% said they strongly support Medicare for all, compared to 25% who strongly oppose it. Another 19% somewhat support the idea and 6% somewhat oppose it.

That gives the proposal a 31-percentage-point advantage among Michigan likely voters despite Medicare for all traditionally being associated with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

The result could be particularly noteworthy in the Senate race, where El-Sayed has made universal health care a signature issue throughout his campaign.

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