2026 forecast · Michigan 8th

Kristen McDonald Rivet is all but certain to win Michigan's 8th District.

Kristen McDonald Rivet vs Thomas J. Smith. The model has Rivet ahead by 23.8 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +23.8Updated October 22, 2026
Kristen McDonald Rivet
Democrat
61.4%
233,833 projected votes
Thomas J. Smith
Republican
37.5%
142,977 projected votes
100%Rivet
0%Smith
Rivet all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Rivet wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe D100% chance for Rivet
Model marginD +23.8No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +32.4 to D +14.82,000 simulations
Projected votes381,084Rivet 61.4%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Michigan districts

13 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Kristen McDonald RivetDemocrat · 100% to win
61.4%
Thomas J. SmithRepublican · 0% to win
37.5%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

381,084 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Kristen McDonald Rivet D233,83361.4%
Thomas J. Smith R142,97737.5%
Jim Casha G4,2741.1%
Total381,084100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%100% Rivet0% Smith15 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Michigan governor polling average
30%35%40%45%50%55%60%MayJunJulAugSepOct50.5Benson42.4James
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
On Point PollingOct 18 · 518 LV · Gold15%Benson +11.8
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanySep 28 · 1,028 LV · A++14%Benson +9.0
Marist UniversityOct 18 · 1,025 LV · C12%Benson +6.0
Emerson CollegeSep 14 · 1,000 LV · Gold11%Benson +7.0
The Washington Post/SSPGSep 14 · 803 LV · A+9.5%Benson +12.0
New York Times/Siena UniversitySep 22 · 605 LV · Gold8.9%Benson +5.0
Every other poll together: 30%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Rivet +23.8
Chance of winning
Kristen McDonald Rivet100%
Thomas J. Smith0%
Simulated vote
Kristen McDonald Rivet61.4%
Thomas J. Smith37.5%
Jim Casha1.1%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +2.0
FundamentalsD +23.9
With pollsD +23.4
Early vote turnoutD +0.4
With early voteD +23.8

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Michigan, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +29R +29Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +2.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +23.9With pollsno pollsD +23.4With early voteturnout so farD +23.8
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.