Michigan · Governor · 2026

Many of Michigan's in-play voters are ideologically in the middle on climate

Of the voters still in play in Michigan's race for governor between Jocelyn Benson and John James, 730,787 carry gas and utilities as the cost that weighs most on them, and 46.8 percent of those sit ideologically in the middle on climate. These are new PharosGraph audiences available through L2, and each dot on the map stands for 150 of them.

Michigan · Gas and utility voters in play, by position on climate Data week of 14 October 2026

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What you are looking at

The dots are Michigan voters for whom gas and utilities weigh most, limited to those in at least one of PharosGraph's two Persuade audiences for governor, one for each candidate. Amber dots sit in the three middle bands on climate and the environment, teal dots in the progressive band and grey dots in the conservative band. Each dot stands for 150 voters placed at random inside their block group, so the map shows where these voters are concentrated and not where anyone lives.

How it is built

Cost of Living Main Driver says which cost weighs most in a voter's own budget, and it isn't a measure of opinion. Persuade audiences rank how movable a voter is, so they don't say a voter is undecided or predict a vote, and a voter can be in both, so the map counts each voter once. The climate bands say where a voter stands on the issue, not how much they care about it, and all of these are modeled audiences, not polling. The map draws 730,502 of the 730,787 voters in these audiences; the other 285 sit in block groups with no boundary on file.

Why these voters, and why now

Jocelyn Benson and John James meet for their second televised debate on October 15, 8 to 9 pm on WDIV Local 4 in Detroit. At their first debate, on October 6, tariffs came first and gas prices followed soon after. In PharosGraph's October 8 read of the race, inflation and the cost of living ranked first and economy, jobs and wages (which includes tariffs) second.

PharosGraph identified 730,787 voters still in play for governor, in our two Persuade audiences for this race, for whom gas and utilities are the cost that weighs most. Of those, 341,876 sit ideologically in the middle on the issue of climate and the environment. That's close to half of them, against about three in ten Michigan voters, and both the progressive and conservative ends are smaller than they are statewide. Each position band is its own audience, so a campaign can reach these voters in the middle with a message tailored to what gas and utilities cost them, instead of a climate case from either side.

Across Michigan, gas and utilities weigh most on 1,714,856 voters, 22.2 percent of the state. PharosGraph's two Persuade audiences for governor together hold 3,248,608 Michigan voters, and gas and utilities weigh most on 22.5 percent of them, close to the statewide rate. These voters aren't concentrated in the race. What sets them apart is where they stand on climate.

The largest numbers of these voters in the middle are in Wayne County (40,814), Oakland County (33,145), Macomb County (31,711) and Kent County (24,900). Their 2024 turnout was 68.7 percent, close to the 69.1 percent statewide, and at an average age of 44 they're younger than Michigan voters overall, at 50. Close to half are more focused on housing affordability than 80 percent of voters nationwide, against about one in five Michigan voters.

PharosGraph ranks these audiences weekly and refreshes them monthly, so a campaign activating now reaches this fall's voters and not a list built in the spring. The gas and utilities driver, the five climate and environment bands and the Persuade and GOTV audiences for governor are available now through L2 DataMapping and in LiveRamp. Michigan voters have been able to vote absentee since September 24 and early in-person voting runs from October 24 to November 1, so campaigns and issue groups talking about energy costs should reach these voters before it opens.

The voters on this map are a PharosGraph audience

PharosGraph scores every registered voter in the country, one voter at a time, on the issues in the news. Those scores are published through L2 Data as audiences that campaigns and agencies activate in LiveRamp or L2 DataMapping, the same way as any other third-party segment.

Open LiveRamp Connect → Open L2 DataMapping → Request a Walkthrough → Data Marketplace · seller: L2 Data · provider: PharosGraph

On this map

PharosGraph Cost of Living Driven by Gas and Utilities1,714,856 in Michigan

PharosGraph MI Governor 2026 Democratic Persuade

PharosGraph MI Governor 2026 Republican Persuade

PharosGraph Climate and Environment Progressive3,390,459 in Michigan

PharosGraph Climate and Environment Leans Progressive761,909 in Michigan

PharosGraph Climate and Environment Centrist1,192,883 in Michigan

PharosGraph Climate and Environment Leans Conservative412,383 in Michigan

PharosGraph Climate and Environment Conservative1,969,980 in Michigan

The amber dots are the 341,876 voters in the gas and utilities audience who are in at least one of the two Persuade audiences for governor and sit in one of the three middle climate bands. A voter can be in play for both candidates, so the map counts each voter once. How much of a race's reachable voters each Persuade audience takes is a setting on that race, so the two aren't meant to be compared by size.

Related audiences to look for

The other costs

PharosGraph Cost of Living Driven by Housing Costs Voters for whom housing is the cost that weighs most

PharosGraph Cost of Living Driven by Healthcare Costs Voters for whom health care is the cost that weighs most

PharosGraph Cost of Living Driven by Childcare Costs Voters for whom child care is the cost that weighs most

PharosGraph Cost of Living Driven by Property Taxes Voters for whom property taxes are the cost that weighs most

Where voters stand on energy

PharosGraph Energy Policy Leans Progressive One of five position bands on energy policy, each its own audience

PharosGraph Energy Policy Centrist The middle band of the five

How much energy matters

PharosGraph Energy Top 10 Percent Salience Voters more focused on energy than 90 percent of voters nationwide

PharosGraph Energy 10 to 20 Percent Salience The next tier down

PharosGraph Energy 20 to 40 Percent Salience The tier below that

Michigan's race for governor

PharosGraph MI Governor 2026 Democratic GOTV Supporters of Jocelyn Benson, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Governor 2026 Republican GOTV Supporters of John James, ranked highest for turnout priority

Michigan's Senate race

PharosGraph MI Senate 2026 Democratic Persuade Voters in play for Abdul El-Sayed

PharosGraph MI Senate 2026 Republican Persuade Voters in play for Mike Rogers

PharosGraph MI Senate 2026 Democratic GOTV Supporters of Abdul El-Sayed, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Senate 2026 Republican GOTV Supporters of Mike Rogers, ranked highest for turnout priority

Michigan's 4th Congressional District

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 4 Democratic Persuade Voters in play for Sean McCann

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 4 Republican Persuade Voters in play for Bill Huizenga

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 4 Democratic GOTV Supporters of Sean McCann, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 4 Republican GOTV Supporters of Bill Huizenga, ranked highest for turnout priority

Michigan's 7th Congressional District

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 7 Democratic Persuade Voters in play for William Lawrence

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 7 Republican Persuade Voters in play for Tom Barrett

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 7 Democratic GOTV Supporters of William Lawrence, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 7 Republican GOTV Supporters of Tom Barrett, ranked highest for turnout priority

Michigan's 8th Congressional District

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 8 Democratic Persuade Voters in play for Kristen McDonald Rivet

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 8 Republican Persuade Voters in play for Thomas J. Smith

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 8 Democratic GOTV Supporters of Kristen McDonald Rivet, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 8 Republican GOTV Supporters of Thomas J. Smith, ranked highest for turnout priority

Michigan's 10th Congressional District

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 10 Democratic Persuade Voters in play for Christina Hines

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 10 Republican Persuade Voters in play for Michael Bouchard

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 10 Democratic GOTV Supporters of Christina Hines, ranked highest for turnout priority

PharosGraph MI Congressional District 10 Republican GOTV Supporters of Michael Bouchard, ranked highest for turnout priority

These are a few of the audiences PharosGraph publishes through L2. The full catalog covers issue focus, issue positions, local community issues, candidates and ballot measures.

See all PharosGraph audiences →