Lt. Gov. Calley’s future could be decided on the bottom of the August ballot
There are some big stakes in the primary elections less than two weeks away, and fierce fights over congressional and legislative nominations are getting a lot of attention.Not that it’s likely to...
View ArticleMichigan Dems hope absentee voting will give them an edge in November
Tuesday may be primary election day, but the truth is we’re already off to the races. The voting has begun. Absentee voting. Absentee ballots are the first ballots cast, but the last to be counted on...
View ArticleGay rights continue to be an issue in Michigan's GOP races
Here we are, trying to shake some more truth out of Tuesday’s primary results. And there is still at least one lingering result that has people continuing to wonder what exactly happened and why. And...
View ArticleEverything is political, even natural disasters
Natural disasters, like the rain and floods that pounded metro Detroit this week, present a unique challenge for chief executives like Governor Rick Snyder. Natural disasters are certainly not like...
View ArticleDebates represent opportunity for candidates (and media)… to fail
It seems it’s not possible for an election campaign season to glide by without a debate over debates -- the one-upsmanship between various campaigns about who’s more willing to throw themselves open...
View ArticleIt’s an ethics battle between the Snyder and Schauer campaigns
“This is Rich Baird ... " was the opening of the voice mail message left by Gov. Rick Snyder’s right-hand man and “transformation manager,” Rich Baird. The message was for union leader Carla Swift....
View ArticleHopes of adding LGBT protections to civil rights law dashed as focus pivots...
Democrats in Lansing are not waiting any longer to push civil rights protections for gays, lesbians, and transgender people.And the fact that Democrats are now out in front, signals this is no longer...
View ArticleFormer Governor Milliken endorses two Democrats, but does it matter?
This week, former Governor Bill Milliken knocked us off the edges of our seats when he started making candidate endorsements (Ok, maybe we weren’t at the edge of our seats).But Michigan’s political...
View ArticleWhy President Obama will come back to campaign in Michigan before November
The persuadable voter. Political independents. There are not as many of them as there used to be. And they don’t seem to be the center of this campaign season as they have been in previous years...
View ArticleSay Yes to the Dress ... I mean Rick Snyder?
It’s looking more and more like Republicans and Democrats are doubling-down on getting female voters to the polls in November. As Rick Pluta and I talked about last week in It’s Just Politics:Michigan...
View ArticleThe week Governor Snyder got aggressive
“I would like to clear-up the biggest piece of hogwash on TV today.”That quote was from Governor Rick Snyder at his first campaign town hall this week, pushing back on claims that his administration...
View ArticleMore voters splitting ticket between Republican Snyder and Democrat Peters?
We’ve been talking for months now on It’s Just Politics about the fact that Election 2014 is really going to be about which party does a better job of getting out its core voters, especially whether...
View ArticlePresident Obama to visit Michigan (an It’s Just Politics prediction rings true)
With news out today that President Obama will be campaigning for statewide Democratic candidates Gary Peters and Mark Schauer at the end of the month, I thought it would be a good time to revisit a...
View ArticlePolitical campaigns get personal with your email addresses
Welcome to this fundraising edition of It’s Just Politics.No, we’re not talking about Michigan Radio’s Fall Fundrive that’s underway (although the number is 888-258-98… ah, stop us!).Instead, we are...
View Article"Brutal attack ads" surface days before Election Day
We are now a week and a half away from Election Day and this is the breakout time in any campaign season. The closing days when candidates and campaigns make their final pitches to try and close the...
View ArticleCan Obama still get Obama voters to the polls?
As we head into the last weekend before the election, Rick Snyder and Mark Schauer (and plenty of others) are making their final swings through the state, launching their final push to get out the...
View ArticleMichigan Democrats won more votes in some cases, just not the elections
A Republican wave on Tuesday.Or was it? In Michigan, there is plenty of evidence that it was not, despite being a very good year for Republicans nationally.More votes, less seatsNo doubt there were a...
View Article“Gender identity” splinters coalition pushing to add LGB (and sometimes “T”)...
There’s a split in Lansing about how far and how aggressively to push for gay rights in Michigan -- specifically to update the state’s civil rights law.Elliott Larsen Civil Rights ActThis is as much a...
View ArticleConsequence of low voter turnout: It’ll now be easier to get a question on...
Michigan had the lowest turnout in a Governor’s race this year since the John Engler-Geoffrey Fieger face-off of 1998. And, while a lot of Republicans sat out this year, it was mostly Democrats who...
View Article