A Republic, If You Can Keep It

Absentee ballots go into the mail in just two weeks. In Michigan, the attention and the massive ad spending is split between candidate races and two very high-profile ballot proposals.

Also this week on the podcast:
* President Biden makes his 6th visit as President to Michigan with another Trump visit to Macomb County in 2 weeks …
* Michigan’s battle over Reproductive Healthcare Rights gets the attention of the entire nation …
* A...

Another week, more political turmoil providing mostly bad news for the Michigan GOP:

The two statewide tickets are set, with Republicans facing an uphill battle as the party’s All-MAGA slate tries to inch away from extreme positions on reproductive freedom, election integrity and state taxes. Also in the mix: some growing legal problems for more than a few Republican candidates. Mark and Jeff are joined by two non-partisan experts to help set the stage for the final 9 weeks of campaigning:

Sitting in with Jeff Timmer this week, guest co-host Walt Sorg, one of the founders of Voters Not Politicians and a longtime Lansing political presence. This week:

While Joe Biden gets to celebrate a B.F.D., Republicans continue to pay homage to their Golden God nationally and in Michigan as the once Grand Old Party continues to disintegrate. One ominous sign (of many) for the GOP’s state ticket: a lack of money. The Whitmer/Gilchrist/Nessel/Benson ticket is banking millions for the fall campaign while the opposition campaigns operate on fumes.

Also this week: opponents of the Reproductive...

A search warrant at Mar-A-Lago, a special prosecutor may put Matt DePerno’s campaign to be Michigan’s chief law enforcement official, and state Republicans look to what could be a volcanic summer convention. In other words, just another bizarre week in Michigan politics.

In Washington, a string of victories for President Biden. Congress is set to pass the biggest climate bill in history after already pushing through long-overdue ...

Reproductive rights win in ruby-red Kansas…
Peter Meijer pays the price…
DeVos money and (maybe) Trump’s endorsement does the job for Tudor Dixon…
Incumbents fall in state legislative races

We record the day after Tuesday’s primary election and are joined in the conversation by one of the shrewdest political analysts in the state: former Lt. Governor John Cherry.

Former staff member to Michigan State Senator Gary Corbin, Cherry ser...

The primary voting ends next Tuesday at 8 p.m. with multiple key battles brewing. The most visible is, of course, the most-bizarre-ever Republican primary for the right to take on Gretchen Whitmer in November, a campaign with five candidates who have never held public office beyond the local level. A week out polling still showed “undecided” in the lead, with Tudor Dixon and her DeVos-funded campaign holding a slight lead over self...

With just two weeks until the primary election, nearly 40% of Republican voters haven’t made up their mind  between the five candidates. Three candidates are in a statistical tie; adding to the uncertainty is the impact of Democratic crossover votes, and whether Donald Trump will endorse a candidate.

Also on this week’s agenda:

Joining the conversation is David Eggert, senior reporter for politics and policy with Crain’s Detroit Bu...