Michigan, one of the key battleground states for Election 2004, is leaning towards Senator John F. Kerry early in the campaign season. Kerry has a 47% to 41% lead over President George W. Bush in the state.

That's a slight improvement for Kerry over our March survey which found the challenger leading by 4-points, 48% to 44%. Both surveys suggest that so far in Election 2004 Michigan is looking like it did in Election 2000. Four years ago, Al Gore defeated Bush to carry Michigan by a 51% to 46% margin.

Like Michigan, most states polled so far this year are showing similar results to four years ago. However, in Pennsylvania, Bush is doing better at the moment than he did against Al Gore. The President is behind his pace from four years ago in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of Michigan voters Approve of the way Bush is performing his job as President. That figure is a bit below the President's national Job Approval rating. But, it is high enough that Michigan is likely to remain competitive throughout the campaign.

Data for Michigan will updated again early next month. Rasmussen Reports has also recently released polling data for the states of Maine, South Carolina, Alabama, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Oregon, Missouri, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, California and Ohio. Other state polling data will be released each day this week.