Election Day, Nov 3 6 daysSenate D 85%House D 97%Governors D 86%Forecast updated Oct 28
2026 forecast ยท 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 20.4 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +20.4Updated October 28, 2026
Kristen McDonald Rivet
Democrat
59.6%
227,275 projected votes
Thomas J. Smith
Republican
39.2%
149,535 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 +20.4No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +29.0 to D +11.42,000 simulations
Projected votes381,084Rivet 59.6%

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 ยท 100% to win
59.6%
Thomas J. SmithRepublican ยท 0% to win
39.2%

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 D227,27559.6%
Thomas J. Smith R149,53539.2%
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% Smith19 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%MayJunJulAugSepOct51.3Benson43.3James
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 todayHollow dot: a lean firm's poll as published; the filled dot is where the average counts it, after its measured lean is taken offHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
On Point PollingOct 18 ยท 518 LV ยท Gold16%Benson +12.0
RedBox Research (D)Oct 23 ยท 2,696 LV ยท NR15%Benson +5.8
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanySep 28 ยท 1,028 LV ยท A++15%Benson +9.0
Glengariff GroupOct 22 ยท 600 LV ยท C+9.1%Benson +6.9
Marist UniversityOct 18 ยท 1,025 LV ยท C8.3%Benson +6.0
Emerson CollegeSep 14 ยท 1,000 LV ยท Gold6.2%Benson +7.0
Every other poll together: 31%

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 +20.4
Chance of winning
Kristen McDonald Rivet100%
Thomas J. Smith0%
Simulated vote
Kristen McDonald Rivet59.6%
Thomas J. Smith39.2%
Jim Casha1.1%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +2.0
FundamentalsD +21.0
With pollsD +20.4

How we got here

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

D +25R +25Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +2.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +21.0With pollsno pollsD +20.4
On Point on YouTubeThe Michigan House race, explained on YouTubeForecast breakdowns, the polls and election night coverage on the On Point channel.Subscribe
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.