Michigan has long been a bellwether for the national political landscape and, judging by the results of our primary last week, the November general election will be as much of a wave election for Democrats as 2010 was for Republicans. Shri Thanedar’s attempt to purchase a governorship with his personal fortune was resoundingly smacked down by voters. He did only […]

The headline of Tuesday’s election is that pissed-off women are voting Democratic. That’s what propelled Gretchen Whitmer to win a straight-up majority in a three-way race for governor and all 83 counties. That’s why women won most of the key congressional races in the state — particularly in those Democrats need to flip in November, the 7th, 8th and 11th. […]

Emerson College released a poll of the Michigan gubernatorial race this week and, with the primary just two weeks from today, it’s looking increasingly like it will turn out as expected with former Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer facing off against our rabid conservative ideologue and Attorney General Bill Schuette: Democratic Primary Whitmer 39 Thanedar 17 El-Sayed 12 Republican Primary […]

What the Michigan gubernatorial Democratic primary reveals about the thirst for progressive policies Two huge themes have preoccupied much of the coverage of the Democratic primaries this year: There’s the “drive to elect women” story and the “progressive policies are sweeping the party even if progressive candidates aren’t” refrain. These two themes collided Tuesday night with the primary victory of […]

Back in February, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed accused unnamed “establishment Democrats” of using “birther-like tactics” to derail his primary campaign after Bridge magazine published an article raising questions about his eligibility to run due to residency requirements. I was hard on Dr. El-Sayed writing, “Publishing this article is not a “birther-like” tactic and the accusation is offensive. People […]

In late January, an article at Bridge magazine raised questions about Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s eligibility to run for this position due to his having lived outside of Michigan for a time. Experts on campaign law weighed in and were not in agreement. Some said he’s fine. Others expressed concern that he may not be fine at all and […]

Shri Thanedar, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Bill Cobbs, Gretchen Whitmer, and Abdul El-Sayed, photo by Anne C. Savage This past weekend, the Washtenaw County Democratic Party hosted a gubernatorial forum for the top four candidates for governor in the 2018 election cycle: Bill Cobbs, Abdul El-Sayed, Shri Thanedar, and Gretchen Whitmer. The event was so popular that we had to stop […]

I have largely avoided writing about Michigan’s gubernatorial this cycle. We interviewed both Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed on The Sit and Spin Room podcast early on but I have been watching the primary unfold without saying much. Partly because it’s so early and partly because I haven’t been “wowed” by any of the campaigns. However, this week, the campaign […]