MICHIGAN—A recent poll of Michigan voters drew a strong reaction on CNN after revealing that 45% of respondents said they would not consider voting for a Muslim candidate for President of the United States.
The data was presented during a CNN broadcast analyzing the
Michigan Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike
Rogers. El-Sayed, who is Muslim, could become the first Muslim senator in U.S.
history if elected.
The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and the Schar
School at George Mason University, found that 45% of likely Michigan voters
said they would not consider voting for a Muslim candidate. The percentage was
46% for atheist candidates, 20% for Jewish candidates, and 7% for Christian
candidates.
Commenting on the results on CNN, anchor Dana Bash described
the percentage of people who said they were unwilling to consider a Muslim
candidate as “just gross.”
The poll also directly measured the Senate race. El-Sayed
registered 48% support compared to 45% for Mike Rogers, a difference that falls
within the poll's margin of error, so the result does not establish a
statistically conclusive advantage.
The poll was conducted from September 10-14, 2026, among 803
likely voters in Michigan and has a margin of error of ±3.9 percentage points.