In 2012, Mitt Romney won 58 percent of white men, 52 percent of voters 65 percent and older, but still lost the state 54 percent to 44 percent. An August 16 Mitchell Research & Communications poll found Trump virtually tied among voters aged 60 to 69. And among voters aged 70 and older, Clinton actually ran ahead of Trump 47 percent to 38 percent.

And while Trump’s economic speech in Detroit earlier this month may have played relatively well nationally, it likely rubbed some in the local audience the wrong way, according to a chief of staff for one of the state’s top elected Republicans.

“He came into Detroit and he gave a big speech at the Detroit Economic Club, which is a lot of your establishment Republicans and frankly a lot of people who have helped the resurgence of Detroit and make all their money and businesses on Detroit’s comeback. And he just came in and talked about how Detroit’s in awful shape and it’s Hillary’s fault,” the top aide said. “And while that probably worked on the national level, for the people who live and breathe Detroit every day, that didn’t go over well.”