MACKINAC ISLAND – As the governor race barrels toward the August statewide primary, candidates convening on Mackinac Island for the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference are keenly aware that economic issues could be what pushes their message across to Michigan voters.
Recent polling commissioned by the chamber found Michigan voters are worried about the economy — 60% of respondents in a May Glengariff Group survey said they thought the economy was weakening. The survey also found 49% of those polled expect inflation to get worse, a sign that many don’t see any light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
It’s not a revelation by any means that economic issues are going to be central to deciding an election. Michigan governor hopefuls, many of whom met with the Free Press at the conference to discuss their campaigns and relevant issues, say cost concerns break out across a variety of areas, from groceries to energy to health care.
“They are stressed. They’ve been stressed,” said former Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican from Livonia running for the party’s nomination. “The past year-and-a-half I’ve been campaigning, (people) feel the pressure of the cost of living, overpaying for energy, state government growing, not getting results from schools.”
Republicans running for Michigan governor have called for eliminating the state’s income tax, a plan Cox said would put more money back into residents’ pockets and drive population growth. Cox has also proposed property tax exemptions for retired seniors. He said lost revenue for the state could be offset by more stringent budgeting, noting the annual state budget has grown in recent years.
Secretary of State and Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson said financial pressure is forcing Michiganders into “making impossible choices.”
“I talked to a mom in Traverse City who said she’s going without health care coverage because she can’t afford the premiums for her and her kids,” she said. “And it’s like people are making impossible choices. People trying to choose whether to eat or pay for a prescription medicine. And to me, I think we have a moral responsibility to solve that for our residents.”
Benson called for a drug prescription affordability board as part of her platform to reduce health care costs. She has also rolled out plans to tackle rising housing costs in Michigan.
Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, said state government needs to remove barriers for businesses and job creators.
“It’s just been tougher and tougher to make it in Michigan. And this is why you need to take a flame thrower into the bureaucracy in Lansing to make sure that we get back open for business,” Nesbitt said.
Nesbitt also said cutting the income tax is key to reversing Michigan’s sluggish population growth, which ranks second-to-last in the United States, outpacing only West Virginia. He also said Michigan needs to avoid abandoning fossil fuels for energy generation, pointing to natural gas and coal-fired power plants as both job creators and reliable sources of energy. Energy costs would go down if Michigan had abundant generation sources, Nesbitt said, although the state’s 2023 clean energy laws directly mandate a transition away from fossil fuels.
U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, said he also has met with voters throughout the state concerned about rising costs.
“I’m talking to everybody, but mostly people that are working hard to make ends meet,” James said during a scrum with reporters. “They look at us and say ‘what the heck are you doing up there?’ I’m saying we’re working together, and I’m developing a plan to put people first to execute what they need us to do.”
James’ comments about the value of the conference came after another Republican candidate, Bloomfield Hills businessman Perry Johnson, urged gubernatorial candidates not to fill out the Detroit Regional Chamber PAC’s endorsement survey. Johnson skipped the conference, but still held a news conference on the island on May 27. Johnson has also called for eliminating the income tax.
“Isn’t it about time that we started thinking of the citizens of this state and making sure that the residents of this state are going to get what they paid for? And that is a state that’s growing, vibrant, and they get to keep their money,” Johnson told reporters.
The other Democratic candidate in the race, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, said he didn’t agree with calls to cut property and income taxes, saying it would lead to gaps in public services that rely on the revenue streams. He said Michigan needs to work to boost its gross domestic product and expand the types of industries that are operating in the state.
“(If) we get more goods and services to Michigan, that only goes into the local economy. That only feeds the engine for us to have lower taxes, lower issues on affordability,” Swanson said. “It allows us to make more.”
Candidates will continue touting their plans to lower costs, as well as the rest of their platforms, leading up to the statewide primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 4. For Michigan voters, finding a candidate they believe will alleviate economic stress is likely to be front of mind.
You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: At Mackinac, Michigan governor candidates tout plans to lower costs
Reporting by Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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