Great Lakes poll in Ohio, 3 other states offers snapshot of voter opinions on Donald Trump and political issu – cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio - Women voters across four Great Lakes states are a major factor why Donald Trump might have some ground to make up if he is to again win Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the 2020 election, a recently released poll suggests.

Among women polled, their support for a Democrat over Trump ranged from 11.2 percentage points in Ohio to 26.1 points in Michigan, according to the Great Lakes Poll, released Wednesday by Baldwin Wallace Universitys Community Research Institute. The preference among men ranged from 2.5 points in favor of Trump in Ohio to 4.4 points against in Pennsylvania.

This was one takeaway from the first of four Great Lakes polls BW will be conducting this year, in partnership with Ohio Northern University in Ada and Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The states were chosen because they flipped from Democratic in 2012 (Barack Obama) to Republican (Trump) in the last presidential election.

After the findings were released Wednesday, cleveland.com published a series of stories providing both an overall summary of the poll, and delving into individual issues.

Here are some of the highlights. Read more about each topic by following the links below:

* Trump trails in each of the four states, indicating the extent to which hell have to entice wavering voters to swing his way before November. Yet Democratic support was softest in Ohio, where the generic Democrat led Trump just 44.3% to 39.4%, with the rest undecided.

Donald Trump trails in four key states he won four years ago, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the Great Lakes Poll from Baldwin Wallace University.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

* Women breaking away from Trump could be a deciding factor in 2020 presidential race: Women are more likely than men to vote for the Democratic nominee than Trump, although there are still many women who are undecided.

* Voters distrust social media as a source of campaign news and worry about foreign interference: Theyre wary of getting presidential campaign news from social media, with the majority viewing articles on social media as untrustworthy or misleading.

There is a general distrust in the news find on social media, according Baldwin Wallace University's Great Lakes Poll.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

* Immigration was a key issue in 2016: What do voters think about it today?: The bulk of voters polled disapprove of how President Donald Trump has handled immigration policy.

* Should popular vote replace Electoral College?: Those polled overwhelmingly said they supported getting rid of the Electoral College system.

* Its the economy, voters in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania say about the 2020 election: Wisconsin voters rank health care as the No. 1 issue in this years presidential campaign. In Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, its the economy.

The economy is the top issue among voters in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, while health care is the No. 1 issue in Wisconsin, according to Baldwin Wallace University's Great Lakes poll.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

* Good news for Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders: Biden or Sanders lead in each of the states, followed by Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg, though the primaries wont reach these states for several weeks.

Joe Biden leads polling in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, while Bernie Sanders leads in Wisconsin, according to the Great Lakes poll released by Baldwin Wallace University.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

BW, in partnership with Ohio Northern and Oakland universities, polled more than 1,000 registered voters in each state from Jan. 8-20. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 to 3.3 percentage points for the statewide results in each state, higher for sub groups.

BW said the poll included quotas for age, education, and gender for each state based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau from the overall adult population in each state. The makeup of voters may be different.

There will be a second poll in the spring. BW hopes to time that poll to when the Democratic nominee becomes clear. Plus additional Great Lakes polls are planned for September and October.

Lauren Copeland, associate director of the Community Research Institute at Baldwin Wallace University, noted that the large number of undecided voters left ample room for Trumps support to grow.

If you take into account the people who are undecided, the race is a tossup in all four states, Copeland said.

A BW Ohio poll a month before the 2016 election showed Hillary Clinton leading Trump, 43.2% to 34.4% with a substantial number undecided at the time. In the election, Clinton received almost exactly that support (43.6%), but Trump did much better (51.7%) in the state.

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Great Lakes poll in Ohio, 3 other states offers snapshot of voter opinions on Donald Trump and political issu - cleveland.com