I first became interested in Democrat Elissa Slotkin’s run to replace the odious Republican Mike Bishop in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District when I watched her amazing ad. In the ad — and in our subsequent interview with her on The Sit and Spin Room podcast — Slotkin said her impetus for running against the corporate shill Bishop was watching him […]

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 […]

It’s well-known that Republican Mike Bishop is deeply embedded in the pockets of the super-wealthy like skabillionaire Matty Moroun so it’ll likely come as no surprise to you that he disdains unions and is all in for gun manufacturers and their corporate front group, the NRA. In fact, his website used to crow about his pro-gun, anti-union stances. Here’s a […]

Repeat after me: Primaries are good. Primaries are good. Primaries are good… I used to believe that primaries were a waste of precious fundraising dollars and that they unnecessarily bloodied up our general election candidate. But in 2014, after Mark Schauer was defeated in his run for governor after facing no primary opponent, I changed my views. I came to […]

“So much for running a government like a business. You can keep the $100 your tax cut will give me, if you take responsibility for your conduct and reimburse me what your potholes have cost me.” That’s the message Ann Arbor attorney John Minnock had for Gov. Rick Snyder this week, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. He wasn’t […]

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 […]

Last year in a rare exhibition of bipartisanship, the Michigan state senate voted unanimously and the House voted 89-11 to pass a new rule involving the taxation of a purchased vehicle when someone trades in another vehicle in the transaction. Under a 2013 law, buyers initially could exempt the value of the trade-in vehicle up to $2,000 from the sales […]

Michigan politicos are once again atwitter about Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other Democrats allegedly trying to recruit an alternative to Gretchen Whitmer for governor. That’s from a Bridge story this week following up on a Detroit News column in November. And I wrote a column for Dome Magazine back in October, going through the months-long history of the effort […]

This afternoon there was a meeting of the Michigan Democratic Party State Central Committee, the group that is essentially “the boss” of the Michigan Democratic Party. One of the items on the agenda was for the Executive Committee to vote in a new representative to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to replace someone who resigned. Two people were nominated. One […]

 If you’re looking for a window into 2018 in Michigan, the most important race took place last night in the western Upper Peninsula. On first blush, it looks like a pretty routine result in the special election for the 109th state House District: Democrat Sara Cambensy held a seat that’s been blue for more than a half-century. The district has a […]