Lansing — The Michigan primary elections have set the stage for several showdowns in the state House and Senate where Republicans and Democrats will be fighting for majorities in the chambers.
All across the state, competitive primaries are emerging that could decide control of the Legislature, where a 20-18 Democratic majority currently occupies the Senate and a 58-52 majority controls the House.
Democrats are hoping the significant difference in turnout during Tuesday’s primary (about 1.5 million voted in the Democratic primary compared with roughly 900,000 in the GOP primary) is a sign of momentum that could help Democrats in competitive House and Senate seats down ballot.
Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, should “start packing his bags” based on those turnout numbers, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Thursday.
“It is just an enormous amount of energy, and a depressed one on the Republican side, that really shows a vast difference between what the two of us are offering,” Hertel said.
Plans to protect and win key seats appeared to be taking shape in the days after the primary.
House Democrats over the weekend planned campaign events in some of their key districts with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
House Republicans on Friday criticized Democrats’ slate of “extreme” candidates and their choice to bring in a governor from a “high tax, unaffordable” state to boost the candidates.
“Democrats are desperate to distract from the nightmare they have on the ballot,” said Gus Portela, a spokesman for the House Republican Campaign Committee.
In the Senate, Republicans selected state Sen. Roger Hauck, R-Mount Pleasant, to lead their caucus as they seek to protect and win seats heading into November.
“Our entire team is united and working together to restore a Republican majority in the Michigan Senate,” Hauck said.
Here are our picks for the top six races to watch heading into November:
Mackinac moment: El-Sayed comment gets spotlight
A video clip from a documentary about Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s unsuccessful 2018 campaign for governor spread on the internet Friday, three days after he won the primary election to become his party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate.
In the footage, El-Sayed was attending the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference and said, “I hate Mackinac so much. It’s funny because like if we win … this going be … the summer home. I’m just going to be like every time I’ve come here, I’ve hated it.”
The clip had nearly 2 million views by Friday evening.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers of White Lake responded with his own photos from Mackinac Island.
“There’s no place like Mackinac,” Rogers wrote on X.
An X account called End Wokeness also shared the clip and wrote, “This is the most American place in MI.”
To which El-Sayed replied, “Not sure about ‘End Wokeness,’ but I don’t think the most ‘American place in MI’ can be a place that … bans cars.”
Whitmer endorses Benson, says state needs a ‘bad a–‘
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the state needs a “bad a– woman who can get s— done” while endorsing Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for governor during a Wednesday campaign event.
During an event in Lansing, hours after the conclusion of a heated primary election, Whitmer pointed to her own accomplishments in office, such as state-subsidized breakfasts and lunches at schools, road construction and protections for the LGBTQ community, as policies that would need to continue after her departure.
“We solved the problem and we always, always put Michigan first,” Whitmer said. “Michigan’s next governor needs to build on this progress. Can you imagine if we go from one administration to another that continues the work instead of undoes it?”
Whitmer said Benson would be a “fighter” for the state, pointing to the Detroit Democrat’s efforts to defend Michigan’s election results and decrease wait times at secretary of state branches.
“They say no one works harder than a mom with a list,” Whitmer said. “Well, Jocelyn’s got a list, and I know that she’ll start checking things off on day one as our governor.”
When Benson was asked after the event why she was committing to continuing her predecessor’s policies instead of giving a message of change, Benson said she wants “a little bit of both.”
“There’s always more we can build on and always more we can do,” Benson said.
McMorrow argues there are reasons for Dem optimism
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow sees reason for optimism in Democrats’ heated U.S. Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed of Detroit and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham.
The Royal Oak Democrat, who dropped her own bid for the U.S. Senate seat last month, said the race El-Sayed won and a contentious April convention during which Stevens was booed off stage showed the Michigan Democratic Party is a “mix.”
“The Senate race fell almost a 50-50 split and my takeaway from that is that the Democratic party in Michigan is truly a big tent party,” McMorrow said. “And the idea that this was a race to decide which direction it was going to go one faction or another was just wrong.”
The message comes as prominent Democrats within the party have condemned behavior at the April convention, including Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Democrats, McMorrow said, should rally around El-Sayed’s message of getting “money out of politics.” Not only is it popular with voters, she argued, but it is helpful for individuals discouraged from running by the “disgusting amount of money” it takes to do so.
“That I think is something that can appeal across the board, which is just this idea that there’s too much money and influence in all of this,” McMorrow said.
Johnson says he’ll back GOP ticket
Former Republican candidate for governor Perry Johnson said Friday that he plans to back the GOP ticket this fall.
Johnson, a businessman from Bloomfield Hills, had been quiet in the days after his loss to U.S. Rep. John James in the Republican primary.
Asked on Thursday whether he’s endorsing James, Johnson replied, “I’m Republican, and I’ll always support the ticket.”
James of Shelby Township won the Republican primary race on Tuesday to become his party’s nominee for governor. He got 50% of the vote, while Johnson received 35%.
Tweet of the Week
The Insider report’s “Tweet of the Week,” recognizing a social media post that was worthy of attention or, possibly, just a laugh, from the previous week, goes to Michigan State University professor Matt Grossmann.
Grossmann described Tuesday’s primary election as a bad night for U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, whose name has been floated as a potential presidential candidate.
Slotkin had endorsed Democrat Matt Maasdam in her old U.S. House seat, but Maasdam finished in third place in a three-candidate race.
“Bad night for Elissa Slotkin,” Grossmann wrote on X. “She endorsed the 3rd place candidate in her prior district, helping her least preferred candidate.
“She didn’t endorse (or recruit) in the Senate race. She may now get less attention than MI’s other senator & loses stature as a Midwest savant.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Key fights take shape in battle for Michigan House, Senate: Insider
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
