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There is nothing quite like waking up on a bright Sunday morning, taking a deep breath of crisp autumn air and enjoying a moment of silence with a hot cup of coffee in hand.
Less than a month before the midterm elections Iof course, it will cling to these moments with a little despair.
Indoors, we’re only one TV remote away from the constant battle for our votes that plays out over the airwaves and social media. More than $20 million was spent to run political ads on television in Michigan in the last week alone, according to AdImpact, and things are only expected to pick up in the latter part of the campaign season.
Abortion, education and the economy take center stage in this election. As absentee ballots hit mailboxes across the state, my colleagues and I will be writing about the candidates and issues you need to make informed choices on key candidates and issues, no matter when or where you choose to vote.
What better place to start than with these names at the top of the ballot? Over the past week and moving forward, MLive has published interviews with the candidates vying to lead Michigan.
– Acting Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer told me she would still like to find a permanent road funding solution in the second term, but is not interested in trying to raise the gas tax again. Education, climate change and economic growth are high on her list of priorities, while she claims she is a key pillar in the fight to protect access to abortion.
– Republican Tudor Dixonmeanwhile, she details how she thinks Michigan needs to get back on track. It starts with education, she told me, and extends to fighting crime and reducing regulations. Dixon would like voters to believe that abortion should not be an important issue in her election. “I’ve never said I’m running from my personal pro-life position,” she told a room full of supporters on Friday.
My colleague Ben Orner also published profiles of the major-party attorney general candidates who came up short in their respective interviews.
– Current Democrat Dana Nessel called his opponent a “fundamentally flawed human being” who would flout election law to see President Donald Trump back in office. She touted her own string of victories, including an expansion of Michigan’s civil rights law and an $800 million opioid settlement.
– Republican candidate Matt De Pernod rose to prominence questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election, but argued that voters should elect him instead to fight crime and progressive views as attorney general. DePerno, not afraid of theatrics, called Nessel a “groomer” who wants to “sexualize our children within the education system.”
I look forward to Ben’s insights from the Secretary of State race.
We also have previews of several key congressional races. Jordyn Hermani dives into what could turn out to be one of the most expensive races in the country: Michigan’s 7th District, where incumbent Democrat Elissa Slotkin hopes to win a moderate constituency for a third term, this time against state Sen. Tom Barrett.
Alice Burr meanwhile, is surveying the new 10th U.S. House District in Macomb County, where John James is hoping the third time is the charm for his congressional aspirations after twice failing to win a U.S. Senate seat.
Blink and you might have missed itpouncing on the prospect of getting a bigger slice of the EV manufacturing pie, the Legislature quickly wrote a $1 billion check to the state’s economic development fund that the governor signed earlier this week.
Almost immediately after, much of that check was cashed as economic incentives were approved for Chinese battery maker Gotion and the $2.4 billion facility it plans to build in Big Rapids.
Both Whitmer and many legislative Republicans accidentally counted the thousands of promised jobs as a win for the state after seeing Michigan rejected for some major EV projects in the recent past.
Dixon, however, opposed the move—not because of opposition to economic incentives, but because of the corporation’s ownership.
“I don’t want our opponents buying property here in the state of Michigan,” Dixon said Friday. “I think our Chinese adversaries have a dangerous plan for the United States of America.
For some related viewing, the 2019 Netflix documentary American Factory offers a complex, human portrait of the trials and tribulations when a shuttered Ohio factory reopens under Chinese ownership. My girlfriend and I, for our part, are entering the season of ghosts by watching Mel Brooks’ iconic Young Frankenstein.
High on my viewing agenda this week will be the first gubernatorial debate on Thursday on WOOD TV. While you’ll all be watching from the comfort of your homes, I’ll be in the studio diligently reporting for you as it unfolds. We recently learned that this will be the first of two debates, with the second taking place on October 25th in metro Detroit.
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