More than three-quarters of Michigan voters are unaware that the state has dropped to 39th in the nation for per-person income, according to a new statewide poll released Tuesday by the Detroit Regional Chamber.

The survey of 600 likely general election voters also found that 59 percent of Michiganders did not know their state ranks 44th in fourth-grade reading scores and 65 percent were unaware of Michigan's standing on unemployment.

The poll comes as the Mackinac Policy Conference kicks off on Mackinac Island this week, with the Detroit chamber using the event to sound the alarm on what it calls a decades-long decline in the state's competitiveness.

'Michigan's House Is on Fire'

Sandy Baruah, CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said the poll reveals a dangerous gap between the reality of Michigan's economic trajectory and what voters understand about it.

"We have continually dropped. We want to tackle that problem, and we're trying to use the conference as the venue to tackle that problem."

Baruah told conference attendees that the chamber's message this year is simple: "Michigan's house is on fire."

The slippage in national rankings has occurred under both Democratic and Republican governors over the past 25 years, Baruah said. He argued that the state's pattern of swinging between parties has created policy whiplash that hurts long-term planning.

"The curse is that the Michigan U-turn is not just a traffic pattern in Michigan. It is a policy approach."

Voters Blame the Nation, Not the State

The poll, conducted by the Glengariff Group between April 28 and May 1 with a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, found that Michigan voters are far more pessimistic about the national economy than about their own state.

  • 62 percent of likely voters said the nation is on the wrong track
  • Only 29 percent said the nation is on the right track
  • 46 percent said Michigan is on the right track
  • 42.5 percent said Michigan is on the wrong track

On the economy specifically, 46 percent of voters said Michigan's economy is on the wrong track, compared to 37 percent who said it is on the right track.

Richard Czuba, founder of the Glengariff Group, said the disconnect matters for policymakers.

"If voters don't know there's a problem, you can't correct the problem. And what this shows is that voters don't even know there's a problem in Michigan."

Inflation Fears at Highest Level Since 2023

The poll also found growing anxiety about inflation. 49 percent of likely voters expect inflation to get worse next year, the highest that figure has reached in Glengariff Group polling since November 2023.

Only 18 percent expected inflation to decrease, while 29 percent expected it to stay the same.

Nearly 42 percent of voters expect the nation to be in recession within the next year.

Duggan Cited Same Political Winds

The poll's findings on voter mood echo the reasons former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave last week for ending his independent bid for governor. Duggan told the Mackinac Policy Conference that a surge in Democratic energy, driven by national issues including President Donald Trump's military action in Iran and rising gas prices, left no viable path for an independent candidate.

Duggan said his own polling showed an 11-point drop from his February peak, with 65 percent of Democrats saying they were afraid to vote for him because they feared tipping the election to a Republican.

Call for Bipartisan Solutions

When voters were asked who should be responsible for creating a plan to improve Michigan's rankings, more than 80 percent on each of the three issues said both parties need to compromise.

"If we can't find common ground between our two parties, then Michigan is doomed to continue to decline in its key performance rankings," Baruah said.

The Mackinac Policy Conference continues through Friday at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, with keynote addresses from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Sources: The Detroit News, Glengariff Group poll, Detroit Regional Chamber