Mama Shu joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to answer a question Highland Park has been living with for a generation: What can neighbors fix, and what needs a government?
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro onApple Podcasts,Spotify,YouTube, orNPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.
Support the podcasts you love.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
“When you launch a campaign and you’re trying to get money out of politics,” he told The Metro, “that invites record amounts of spending against you.”
More than $60 million in outside money went into last week’s Michigan Senate primary, most of it aimed at stopping him. The largest single source was AIPAC, whose super PAC spent about $30 million backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens — the most the pro-Israel group has ever put into a congressional primary.
El-Sayed won by fewer than 15,000 votes.
He ran health departments in Detroit and Wayne County, and he now faces Republican Mike Rogers for a seat that could decide control of the Senate. If he wins, he would be the first Muslim to serve there.
He sat down with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent — in the same studio where he announced his run in April of last year.
The money that defined the race
El Sayed came back to the spending repeatedly, including when asked why he lost Detroit. “Ask yourself, if there was no outside spending in this campaign, where do we think votes would have gone?”
He won’t stop saying genocide
Did calling the war in Gaza a genocide drown out his message on health care? He said it isn’t a trade he’ll make: “The job’s not worth it. The work is worth it.”
To Jewish voters who hear his criticism of Israel as criticism of them: “Judaism and the Jewish people are a light unto the world. But Judaism and the Jewish people are different than AIPAC and the Israeli government.”
Black Democrats and the ‘uncommitted’ vote
Many Black Democrats in Michigan blame the 2024 “uncommitted” protest vote, which El-Sayed backed, for costing Kamala Harris the state. Keith Williams, who chairs the state party’s Black Caucus, endorsed Stevens and said El-Sayed was with uncommitted only when it suited him.
“Convenience would have been to say nothing and stay quiet,” El-Sayed said. He noted that Harris endorsed him Friday. “I don’t think she thinks I’m the reason that she lost.”
On mistrust between Black and Arab Detroit, he said Arab and Muslim Michiganders can’t object to anti-Arab racism while tolerating racism toward Black Detroiters. “Standing up against racism is about principle. It’s not about tribalism.”
Data centers and health care
El-Sayed said what he’d write into federal law on data centers, after campaigning against the Oracle and OpenAI project in Saline Township: protections for local water, no utility rate increases, guaranteed union jobs, and money held in escrow before construction begins.
On Medicare for All, he acknowledged a freshman senator can’t deliver it alone. “You can’t get it all in one shot. But politics, as all of us know, doesn’t just move linearly.”
The Metro has invited Republican candidate Mike Rogers on the program several times and has not heard back.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro onApple Podcasts,Spotify,YouTube, orNPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.
Support the podcasts you love.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Michigan voters went to the polls Tuesday to select candidates who will meet in the general election in November.
Congressman John James won the Republican primary for governor. He had a tough competitor in businessman Perry Johnson. Johnson ran a steady flight of television commercials, at times portraying James as a “DEI candidate.” During the course of the Republican primary, James made few appearances in the city of Detroit.
During his victory speech Tuesday night, James laid out his plans if he’s elected Senator. “We’re going to cut taxes. We’re going to lower your energy bills. We’re going to protect Medicaid for those who need it, while stopping fraud and abuse from those who would steal from it.”
James will face Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in the November general election. Benson easily beat Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in the Democratic primary.
During a speech to supporters in Detroit Tuesday night, she said she’ll work for Michigan voters if she’s elected governor in November. “Who do you want Michigan’s leaders to work for? The people or the powerful? Well, you all know who I work for. I will work for all of you and every Michigander in this state. Not the highest bidder. Not corporate interests. Not Donald Trump. You.”
Benson is a Detroit resident.
El-Sayed beats out Stevens for U.S. Senate race
In the most watched contest of the night, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
In a speech to supporters in Detroit Wednesday morning, El-Sayed took aim at Republican Mike Rogers – who El-Sayed will face in the general election: “And so, Mike, and I know you’re listening, Mike. We are coming for you.”
With more than 60-million dollars in outside spending, the race is the most expensive U.S. Senate primary in history. El-Sayed beat Stevens by less than a percentage point.
-Reporting by Russ McNamara
Congressional primaries
Detroiters watched two Democratic primaries for Congress yesterday. Representative Rashida Tlaib easily defeated former state representative Shanelle Jackson and Inkster Mayor Byron Nolan in the 12th Congressional District.
State Representative Donavan McKinney defeated incumbent Congressman Shri Thanedar in Michigan’s 13th District primary. Results show Mckinney won just over half the vote.
McKinney says its time for a new style of politics, because it’s impossible for representatives to serve two masters. “You can’t serve the working people and the corporations at the same time. You have to pick one, and so I think the people are calling for petter and I thing they’re calling our legislators and our Congress to do things for them and not on behalf of the few, but on behalf of the many.”
McKinney also supported ending federal aid to Israel. He says Congress should focus more on domestic needs. Thanedar was seeking his third term in the U.S. House.
-Reporting by Bre’Anna Tinsley
Other results
Incumbent Wayne County Executive Warren Evans easily won his primary race to win the right to run for another term as the Democratic candidate in November.
Proposal S, which provides additional revenue for the Detroit Public Schools Community District passed overwhelmingly, as did the Wayne County Public Transportation Millage. That measure will keep communities from being able to opt OUT of the SMART bus system.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support the podcasts you love.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
This year’s primaries feature some competitive races that will mark battle lines come November and may even point to national trends.
This week on MichMash, WDET’S Cheyna Roth, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss some of the key things to look out for in Tuesday’s elections. They are joined by Gongwer reporters Nick Smith and Lily Guiney.
What do the polls say about who will win their party’s nominees.
Here are some key moments the MichMash team is watching for on the Aug. 4 Michigan primary elections:
Tuesday may be a referendum of where Michigan Democratic voters are leaning towards. The results of races for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate will tell us if progressives or established Democrats are the voice of the Michigan Democratic party.
What will the national implications be and how much interest will Michigan draw after the results? The fight for U.S. Senate and House is tight, making a purple state like Michigan a key factor in determining who has control of Congress.
Which party is more motivated? Voter turnout varies based factors like who is on the ballot. Tuesday’s results will tell us more about the upcoming midterm elections.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Democratic voters in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District have a choice in the 2026 primary election: re-elect incumbent Rashida Tlaib or pick someone new.
Tlaib is seeking her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She’ll have to defeat two challengers whose names appear on the August ballot. One is former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson of Detroit. The other is Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen.
WDET’s Pat Batcheller asked the candidates why they’re running. Tlaib says she loves her constituents and wants to keep serving them.
“They want somebody that’s unbought and unapologetic,” she says. “Getting people through everyday challenges and issues is as important as any bill I could ever pass because it changed lives immediately.”
Who is Rashida Tlaib?
Tlaib was born and raised in Detroit, the eldest of 14 children whose ancestors are Palestinian.
“I was always protecting my siblings and even my mother as I would translate for her at the cashier counter,” she says.
Tlaib put herself through law school, worked at the Sugar Law Center, and served in the Michigan House of Representatives for six years. She became interested in politics as an aide to her legislative predecessor, Steve Tobocman.
“He said, ‘I’ll teach you how to kill a bill,'” she recalls. “When he was term-limited out, he asked me to run.”
She’s not shy
As a state lawmaker, and then as a congresswoman, Tlaib has been outspoken on many issues, such as immigration. Many of her constituents are immigrants who live in southwest Detroit, where she grew up. She also represents Dearborn, which has a large Arab American and Muslim population. Tlaib has criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants regardless of their legal status. She wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We’re getting complaints over and over that they’re deporting U.S. citizens,” she says. “We can have a comprehensive, very humane, and fair immigration system without this aggressive, very violent, militarized agency.”
Tlaib has been Washington’s most vocal critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians. Israel says it’s defending itself from terrorist groups such as Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Tlaib has voted against giving financial aid or weapons to Israel. And she doesn’t apologize for it.
“More of my colleagues are joining in now,” she says. “We’re talking about over 100 now who also support ending the funding.”
Roots in the community
Tlaib’s primary opponents say she spends too much time focusing on Israel and foreign policy than she does working for her constituents. One challenger, former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson, called Tlaib ineffective, saying Congress has only passed one of her bills in eight years.
Tlaib says that’s not true. She says the House passed several bills she sponsored, including a federal water assistance program.
“I was able to get $1.1 billion to help families get their water turned back on,” she says. “And $68 million back to the district through the community-funded projects from the Boys and Girls Clubs for home repair.”
Affordability goes beyond high prices
Tlaib agrees with Jackson and her other challenger, Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen, that affordability is a big issue in the 12th district. But she says it’s about more than just the cost of gasoline, food, and housing—it’s greed.
“The big banks, the corporations, the industries, all of them are extracting from our federal government and pulling all these resources away,” she says. “It’s all profit-driven, and it leaves a lot our families in survivor mode.”
Tlaib blames President Trump for much of the nation’s problems. He is one of Tlaib’s biggest critics. If House Democrats regain the majority in the 2026 midterm elections, Tlaib says she won’t back down during his final two years in office. And she resists her opponents’ calls to compromise with Republicans.
“How do you compromise with a fascist government that thinks my neighbors’ votes should count or that polluting their communities is OK?” she asks. “I push back no matter how unpopular it is.”
Whoever wins the primary election will likely win the general election in November because the 12th district is a Democratic stronghold. Voting ends on August 4.
Meet the other candidates for the 12th Congressional District:
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Democratic voters in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District have a choice in the 2026 primary election: re-elect incumbent Rashida Tlaib or pick someone new.
Tlaib is seeking her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She’ll have to defeat two challengers whose names appear on the August ballot. One Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen. The is former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson of Detroit.
WDET’s Pat Batcheller asked Jackson why she’s running against Tlaib. She says the district needs someone who focuses more on what’s happening in Detroit.
“I feel like we’re a stool for her to stand on to move and project the needs of another group of people that are suffering somewhere else,” Jackson says.
Who is Shanelle Jackson?
Jackson describes herself as “a Detroit girl through and through.” She attended Detroit Public Schools, the University of Michigan, and Marygrove College. She earned a master’s degree in social justice and political science and became a lawyer. At age 26, she ran for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. She won, becoming the youngest woman of color ever elected to the state Legislature. She served six years from 2007 through 2012.
Jackson says she became an effective Democratic policy maker by working with Republicans.
“I drove across the state, I met them in their districts,” she says. “I learned the art of policymaking, moving policies to change folks’ lives.”
Jackson says Tlaib lacks that ability.
“You have to have a willingness to be amenable to the other side,” Jackson says. “You’ve got to be willing to sit with them to work with them, understand them, learn from them, listen.”
Addressing poverty is critical
Jackson says affordability is the top issue facing the 12th district. She says the root of that is poverty, which affects almost half of Metro Detroit. She says the way to break that cycle is to help people find work.
“We do that with education,” Jackson says. “But we also do that with investment in job training, public-private partnerships.”
The former lawmaker says Congress needs to help people who receive public assistance avoid what she calls the “benefits cliff.”
“What happens is you get men and women who are on assistance, they get a small raise,” she says. “But as soon as they get that, they get pushed off assistance.”
Jackson says she hopes to restore people’s trust in government.
“Some folks feel disenchanted with the process,” she says. “I’ll tell your story; I’ll make sure that our voice and our perspective is heard.”
Finding common ground
Despite her reservations about Tlaib’s effectiveness, Jackson says she shares many of the congresswoman’s positions.
“She’s a great advocate on social justice issues,” Jackson says. Both women support women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and universal health care. But Israel is a different story.
Tlaib has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s government and its war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians. Israel says it’s defending itself from terrorist groups such as Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Tlaib has voted against giving financial aid or weapons to Israel. Jackson says she stands with Israel, but doesn’t want the U.S. to rush into any conflict.
“I will work toward more diplomatic efforts stopping this war that the president went into without going to Congress for authorization,” she says.
Jackson also says she would reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Tlaib says the government should abolish ICE.
Whoever wins the primary election will likely win the general election in November because the 12th district is a Democratic stronghold. Voting ends on August 4.
Meet the other candidates for the 12th Congressional District:
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Democratic voters in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District have a choice in the 2026 primary election: re-elect incumbent Rashida Tlaib or pick someone new.
Tlaib is seeking her fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She’ll have to defeat two challengers whose names appear on the August ballot. One is former state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson of Detroit. The other is Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen.
WDET’s Pat Batcheller asked the candidates why they’re running. Nolen says he says he wants to change the tone of American politics.
“Everybody’s standing in their corner and looking at each other, saying ‘I hate you, I don’t want to talk to you,’ and they’re not getting things done,” the mayor says. “I pride myself on getting things done.”
Who is Byron Nolen?
Nolen was born and raised in Inkster. He became a lawyer and represented city residents in a lawsuit over water rates. After they won their case, Nolen says people urged him to run for mayor. He was reluctant at first.
“We were a city manager form of government at the time,” he recalls. “I would just be a glorified city council person.”
Nolen ran anyway and the city revised its charter to give the mayor more power. Voters elected him in 2015, ousted him in 2019, and returned him to office in 2023.
He says affordability is the most important issue in the 12th district. If elected, Nolen says he would work to make their lives better.
“Do what you need to do to improve the quality of life,” he says. “If you can’t do that, get out of the way and let somebody else take over.”
Nolen says he believes Rep. Tlaib has lost that focus.
“I think she’s more of an activist than she is actually a politician or someone who’s trying to get things done for the district,” he argues.
Nolen says he prioritizes local issues
Tlaib has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s government and its war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians. Israel says it’s defending itself from terrorist groups such as Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Tlaib has voted against giving financial aid or weapons to Israel. Nolen says he hopes the U.S. changes its policies and makes future aid to Israel conditional. He says that might have happened if Tlaib had openly supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
“You could have had that conversation with Kamala Harris,” he says. “Now, you’re trying to have it with Donald Trump. That’s going to be tough.”
While Nolen might differ with Tlaib’s approach to foreign policy, he does agree with her on many domestic issues, including women’s reproductive rights.
“Your body, your choice, you do what you need to do,” he says. “I don’t think men should be part of the conversation.”
Nolen says he also supports LGBTQ+ rights and universal health care, just as Tlaib does.
He pledges to work across the aisle
Whoever wins the primary election will likely win the general election in November because the 12th district is a Democratic stronghold. If the party wins control of Congress, Nolen says he would work with Republicans to get things done during the final two years of President Trump’s second term.
“The president is only going to sign bills that he wants to sign,” the mayor says. “You figure out what his priority list is, look at what you want to get done, see if there’s some common ground, and try to go after those things.”
Meet the other candidates for the 12th Congressional District:
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Former Detroiter Stephanie Cochran says she doubts that she will feel that authority over government until a new generation of politicians take office.
Listen: Parent searches for fresh ideas and better schools this election
Interview edited for length and clarity.
Stephanie Cochran: Culture is evolving, generations are growing, and we need fresh, young, new faces with fresh, new, young ideas that understand how times have changed. I understand tradition is important. But we have to evolve with the growing society. So, until we get new, young, fresh faces in there, we’ll never have the control. It is our right and our power to choose who we put in there. But the masses put the same people in office every time.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: If there were some fresh, new faces in there, what issues would you like to see them try to address right now?
SC: Livable wages, that’s my first thing. People are miserable in their situations. They’re working just to get by and they’re not even getting by. Most households have a minimum of two jobs per adult. In situations like that I need job security, I need better jobs, I need higher-paying jobs.
And that leads directly into affordable housing. I had to move out of the city of Detroit because I couldn’t afford to live in the city anymore. For what I was paying for a studio apartment on the riverfront, I now have a whole three bedroom home in Warren. It’s like I was bullied out of my neighborhood. I grew up in that neighborhood, I had been there since childhood. And I was bullied out because people with higher incomes have come in and bought up all the property, redeveloped it, and now everything is astronomical and sky high for native Detroiters to stay in their communities.
QK: City officials in Detroit, among many other officials, often push the need for affordable housing and that they’re addressing it. But that doesn’t seem to be having much of an impact in your view?
SC: Not really, because it sprinkles here and there. If you really want to see some dynamic impact, invest in the communities. Go door to door, knock on people’s doors, offer them grant money. “Can we help you fix your house up? Do you need some assistance buying the lot next to you so you can maintain it on our behalf?” Get creative with the options. Don’t just throw up a high-rise or a complex in the worst neighborhood in the city and call it affordable housing, knowing it’s only 40 units in that building. That’s 40 families taken care of out of what, thousands?
QK: Other issues that might be important to you?
SC: Inflation is definitely a a worry, especially with the tariffs constantly fluctuating and us being right here on the Canadian border. We see the price influx first.
QK: If you were elected to whatever position, how do you think you would go about trying to attack those issues?
SC: The first thing is more open lines of communication between the political scene and the direct constituency it serves. I think if we had more clear, concise conversations, more people voice their concerns and they were actually heard, we would get a lot farther.
QK: Does it feel like you’re kind of cut off from some of the representatives right now?
SC: It does, it does. You call and you get their aides or their voicemail. Or you’ll send an email and it will go through a chain of command. And by the time you’ve gotten your issue to someone who has the power to help, it’s either no longer an issue or you’re too exhausted to keep fighting.
For me personally, being the parent of a recent high school graduate who had to take her child to a suburban school district to feel confident in the education she was receiving, I want Detroit’s school system to pull it together. There are schools in Detroit that don’t have computer labs. There are schools in Detroit that don’t even have enough books per student. There are suburban schools that send laptops home with their students at the beginning of the school year that is theirs to maintain for the rest of the school year. Why can’t Detroit have that same type of opportunity for our students?
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate Primary is one of the most closely watched and deeply debated in the country.
With less than two weeks to go before election day, Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed have gained supporters from across the state.
Retired General Motors worker Theresa Landrum backs Stevens and her “fight” for the US Senate seat.
“We need a fighter like that to fight tooth and nail for the people that are going to be harmed by this current administration,” Landrum said.
El-Sayed supporter Andrew Lyon of Ferndale was originally set to support State Senator Mallory McMorrow’s bid, but a friend offered other options.
“My friend was like, ‘Oh no, you gotta check out Abdul.’ And then I looked him up. I think it was on TikTok,” Lyon said. “(I) started following him, and then instantly (switched). What he wants to fight for is exactly what I believe in.”
What are they fighting for?
Stevens has promised to push back on the Trump Administration and the president himself.
“I’m just fired up to be out here putting my hand up for Michigan in this serious moment,” Stevens said. “It’s no joke what is going on, with Donald Trump stealing from people, illegal impoundments of funds, going after voting rights.”
El-Sayed says he has no love for the president, but he’s fighting against the Democratic Party’s centrist establishment too.
“I’m not dangerous if you’re someone who needs government to work for you. But if you’re Chuck Schumer, damn right I’m dangerous,” El-Sayed said. “If you are someone who wants to stand in the way of government working for people, I am dangerous.”
According to Adam Carlson, founding partner of Zenith Research, only 47% of democrats have a favorable opinion of Schumer. He was commissioned to do a poll for the pro-El-Sayed veterans group Common Defense.
It’s not like Democrats couldn’t see this coming. One of the first things that Mallory McMorrow did when she announced her run for Senate in 2025 was call for Schumer’s removal as Senate Minority Leader.
In New York and Colorado, progressive candidates have primaried centrist incumbents and won. The big question is whether wins in deep blue districts can be replicated in purple states like Michigan.
Carlson said the rage against the Democratic political machine leaves voters open to a left-wing populist.
“I’ve never seen in my 13 years doing this voters so angry, frustrated with like conventional wisdom, and being told who is electable, and just inflation, cost of living, and all that. Just much more responsive to populism, more than a left-right divide,” Carlson said.
Stevens – who has been supported by Schumer from the beginning of her run – doesn’t see this race as a referendum on Democratic Party leadership.
“There are some people who are running who assume that’s what this race is all about, and I don’t think that’s fair to the people of Michigan,” Stevens said. “I believe that this race is about the future of Michigan and our workforce, and who’s going to get points on the scoreboard for organized labor.”
What do voters want in their candidates?
A recent poll by the Michigan-based Glengariff Group showed that the top two things voters want out of a Democratic senate candidate are “fighters” and someone who is “electable.”
For Stevens supporters, electability is all about the general.
Retired U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and retiring Senator Gary Peters both believe Stevens can beat Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Peters thinks Stevens will be able to face down a ton of money from Republicans in the general.
“That’s why you have to have someone who has a proven track record of actually winning tough races. And that’s Haley Stevens,” Peters said. “She’s won tough races. She’s had that kind of money spent against her from outside forces. She’s an independent voice who stands up for Michigan folks.”
But in this primary, those outside forces are on her side.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at a recent El-Sayed campaign event in Detroit about how he views this race.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders during a rally in Detroit on July 18 2026.
“With all due respect to Congresswoman Stevens, everyone knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul El-Sayed,” Sanders said. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class.”
Stevens doesn’t care for that characterization, but seems to agree that getting money out of politics is a good thing.
“The thing is, is that we have to pass the laws to stop dark money. It is not about whether I say it or not as a point of altruism. This is actually about changing our laws,” Stevens said.
With nearly $70 million spent so far, MIRS news is reporting that this is the second most expensive Democratic Senate primary ever, with a chance to supplant the 2024 Democratic primary in California.
But it’s not just the money, it’s where it is coming from. El-Sayed is running the stronger grassroots campaign, taking money and ground game support from unions and related PACs totaling $850,000.
He’s consistently been in the top 5 fundraisers on the Democratic fundraising platform Act Blue, a site that specializes in small dollar donations. Last quarter, El-Sayed outgained Stevens $4.5 million to $2 million in grassroots support and drew $65,000 more in individual donations than Stevens.
More than $50 million has been spent on Stevens, largely in the form of TV and streaming ads. If you’ve turned on something with a screen in the past month, you’ve likely seen one.
Since her first run for Congress in 2018, Stevens’ ties to the Obama-era auto bailout have been a center point of her campaign – though she’s never earned the endorsement of the United Auto Workers.
What are the demographics of voters?
Micqoua Franklin was one of the many that chatted with Stevens at a Juneteenth event in Detroit, and she said that as a Black voter, Stevens is “for us.”
“Obama had her. That’s Obama girl. Obama girl is my girl. I know she’s gonna do right by us,” Franklin said.
Polling backs up at sentiment too, with Stevens often having a 2 to 1 advantage among Black voters. However, President Obama has not made an endorsement in this race.
At the rally in Detroit that featured Senator Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the demographics of the largely white crowd didn’t match up with that of America’s largest majority-Black city. El-Sayed, who was the health department director for the city and the county writ-large, said he’s put in the work.
Supporters of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed watch as Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to the crowd in Detroit on July 18, 2026
“I’ve chosen to work in communities like Detroit and Wayne County, majority Black communities, to take on inequities my whole career. People are going to say what they say,” El-Sayed said. “My job is just to focus on defending the folks that I’ve been defending since I got into public service and let my work speak for itself.”
There’s also the matter of the 2024 presidential election where many in the Black community felt betrayed by the Muslim and Arab American communities, resulting in a lingering resentment being heaped upon El-Sayed.
Detroit political fixer Adoplh Mongo is one voter who echoes this sentiment.
“He didn’t support Kamala Harris when she ran for president,” Mongo said. “He was like vote for none of the above that that sort of thing, and then when he did come to support, it was half-ass support.”
However, El-Sayed did endorse Vice President Harris soon after she became the presumptive nominee. Fair or not, it’s a common perception among Black voters and politicos.
Mongo is not a fan of Stevens either… citing her ‘yes’ vote for a resolution honoring slain conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk. Even so, Mongo says Black voters will likely support whomever in the general election.
“Democrats, they the most unloyal people in the world in Detroit. And you know we love them—I’m saying Black folks—when they don’t even love us,” Mongo said.
Campaign ads and Middle Eastern conflict
A Stronger Michigan is one of the dark money groups putting up millions in ads for Stevens. There’s also UDP, or the United Democracy Project. Sounds bland enough, but it’s a front for AIPAC – the American Israel Political Affairs Committee.
Stevens is not Jewish but is an advocate for Israel.
“I will continue to fight for the people of Israel. I will continue to fight for Israel’s existence,” Stevens said. “Israel comes to me in my dreams. I see Israel’s future. And I know that Israel will continue to exist for the Jewish people!”
Congresswoman Haley Stevens speaks to reporters in Farmington, Mich. on July 17, 2026.
Four years ago, when redistricting had Stevens and former Congressman Andy Levin – who is Jewish – battling it out in a primary, AIPAC kicked in millions to help Stevens win.
This time, AIPAC is helping to defeat El-Sayed, a Muslim.
AIPAC wants to keep American money and weapons flowing to Israel. American taxpayer support of Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon has become a political flashpoint.
Last year, the United Nations and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have released reports classifying Israel’s attacks in Gaza as genocide.
El-Sayed—and many of his supporters— believe that too.
Robert Baker, a voter from Westland, considers this issue to be “right at the top of” his list.
“For the last three years, we’ve been seeing nonstop destruction in Gaza. We’ve seen what it was and what it is now, and all the people that are dead, all the people missing, and all the war crimes that are being recorded by IDF soldiers and published,” Baker said. “I feel like Abdul is someone that is going to take charge to make sure that this kind of stuff stops happening in our politics, and that our politics stops getting sold out to AIPAC and other big corporation PACs.”
When Mongo talks about feeling betrayed by Muslim and Arab American voters who did not lend their support to Kamala Harris, US foreign policy toward Israel was the reason. Harris refused to distance herself from President Biden’s position, and it cost her politically.
In a general election, her Pro-Israel stance could cost Stevens too. Data from Carlson’s poll seems to suggest it could have an impact.
“31% of very progressive and liberal voters hold a strongly unfavorable view of Haley Stevens,” Carlson said. “26% of very progressive liberal voters say they’re undecided if Stevens is nominee against Mike Rogers.”
El-Sayed knows he has an uphill battle when it comes to electability and likeability because of his faith. The Michigan Republican Party has already taken to referring to him by his full name: Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. It’s a scaremongering tactic and why everyone know President Obama’s middle name is Hussein.
El-Sayed brushes off things like that because getting angry about it gives them what they want.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks to rallygoers at an informational picket for public defenders in Detroit on June 17, 2026
“I’ve been Abdul my whole life,” El-Sayed said. “I was Abdul when I got voted captain on my high school football team and wrestling team and lacrosse team by people who weren’t named Abdul, who didn’t have names like mine. The reason they supported me is because my whole life I’ve been explaining myself, and so you get pretty good at explaining yourself, and I’ve learned that when people get past the name, they’re a lot more interested in what you have to say.”
Who will win on August 4?
Stevens is less reliant on charm and more reliant on millions being pumped into TV and streaming ads. Her canvassing efforts have been lacking.
El-Sayed has over 10,000 campaign volunteers. His lawn signs are everywhere – not just in Metro Detroit but outstate as well. Recent rallies drew thousands in a way Stevens has been unable to replicate. But lawn signs don’t vote, and rallies are often packed with volunteers.
Will El-Sayed prove that charisma and lefty populist politics can be palatable in a purple state?
Can Stevens get by on her stay-the-course center left politics and campaign ad ubiquity?
Michigan’s primary election is August 4.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Outgoing US Senator Gary Peters is endorsing Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for US Senate.
Peters described Stevens as an “outstanding” candidate who will hit the ground running on day one. He talked about working with Stevens during the Obama administration and how he thinks that experience gives her a leg up over her opponent, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.
“We want someone who can come in that doesn’t have a learning curve,” Peters said. “Someone who’s going to immediately represent the people of Michigan and fight for their interest. She’s Michigan through and through.”
Peters changed his mind on endorsement
Peters said he wanted to stay out of endorsing in the Democratic primary until he realized how Michigan’s elections will impact the entire country. He said he sees “chaos” in the Trump administration, with inflated prices making it harder for Michiganders to buy gas and groceries.
“It’s absolutely essential that a Democrat wins in Michigan. We need to have a check and balance with the administration,” Peters said.
Peters denied his sudden endorsement meant the Stevens campaign was “panicked” as alleged by the Michigan Republican Party.
“That should be very telling when Republicans are making that comment. I guess they want the other candidate to win.”
El-Sayed has largely been leading in the polls since the beginning of May.
Representing Michigan
Peters described Michiganders as “practical, common-sense folks” who just want to get things done. To Peters, out-of-state endorsements for El-Sayed don’t reflect the needs of Michigan.
“To me, this race is about Michigan,” Peters said. “It’s not about who’s attracting a national audience or who’s on national TV. It’s about who’s actually delivering for the people of Michigan.”
Peters says there would be big spending for Republicans in their primary if Mike Rogers had a serious challenger.
“Whoever wins the primary, part of that $45 million of Republican money is going to go after that person with everything they’ve got, and that’s why you have to have someone who has a proven track record of actually winning tough races,” Peters said.
What people should be focusing on instead of money, according to Peters, are the messages from each Democratic candidate.
On the Republican side, Peters said that Mike Rogers will serve as a “rubber stamp” for the Trump administration instead of serving the needs of Michigan.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign for U.S. Senate three days after earning an endorsement from the Detroit Free Press.
Nancy Kaffer, the editorial page editor of the Freep, said they will not be endorsing another candidate in this race.
“We said what we said, and we just have to sit with it,” Kaffer said.
Now that only Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed remain, Kaffer said it seems likely that former McMorrow voters will split between the candidates and that neither of them will “clean up.”
“If you valued prior elected experience as a McMorrow voter, you might gravitate to Stevens,” Kaffer said. “If you prized pushback against the status quo and a more ambitious agenda around health care or a more firm stance against Israel, you might gravitate to El-Sayed.”
The future of the Democratic primary
Kaffer said that although she has been covering Michigan politics for 26 years, she is unsure about what will happen next.
One thing that muddies the waters, she said, is unreliable polling.
“We’re seeing polls come out from outlets that I’ve never heard of that don’t operate in this state,” Kaffer said.
When she is wary of an unfamiliar poll, Kaffer said she always looks at their methodology. One form of polling Kaffer avoids is those conducted via text, which can be skewed by simply sharing the link to others.
“People are creating narratives based on some really questionable polling, and that’s unfortunate because a big part of campaigning is narrative, and sometimes people are winning because they seem to be winning,” Kaffer said.
Kaffer described Michigan as a “fascinating” and “complex” state and warned against anyone who says they have all the answers.
“This whole thing is really a test case, and anyone who says that they know what’s happening here, they are selling you something,” Kaffer said.
One concern Kaffer said she sees is the growing divide in the Democratic party. She described it as “risky” for the Democratic primary nominees to make strong accusations against one another because they will end up alienating themselves from the other side of their own party.
Although Kaffer is uncertain about the outcome of this race, she has a prediction about its general direction.
“I think it’s going to get even weirder,” Kaffer said.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
After President Donald Trump took the country to war and raised costs, many Republicans are finding it difficult to campaign in this election season.
While the sitting president’s party often performs poorly in midterm elections, the trend seems likely to continue this year.
In general-election polls, Democrat Jocelyn Benson holds the lead. But in politics, anything can happen. Last week, two debates spotlighted the active Republican candidates for governor: Congressman John James, Mike Cox, and Perry Johnson. Who are they, and what do their campaigns reveal about the Republican Party in Michigan?
Andrea Bitely is the founder and principal of Bitely Communications, a Lansing‑based public‑affairs firm. She spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the stories the Republican candidates are telling, and why they signal significant changes to the party.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support the podcasts you love.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Come November, thousands of political seats are up for grabs.
One of the most compelling races in Michigan is the Senate. That’s in part because of what it says about the Democratic Party, especially after Mallory McMorrow dropped out.
Most polls have Abdul El-Sayed leading in the race, but there is still uncertainty as to whether he can defeat Haley Stevens, a sitting congresswoman who gained notoriety for her moderation, and for bailing out the auto industry.
Dennis Darnoi is the founder of Densar Consulting, based in Farmington. He says many voters want candidates that have an anti-institutional and populist bent.
“Progressive candidates are running against these establishment candidates and they’re being more successful because the Democratic base is really looking for two things: They’re looking for people who are going to fight and they’re looking for people who are anti-system.”
Darnoi spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the Senate race and how it reflects changes to politics in Michigan and beyond.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow has suspended her campaign for US Senate.
In a video announcing her decision, McMorrow highlighted some of her and her colleague’s accomplishments in the Michigan legislature.
“We repealed Michigan’s abortion ban. We raised wages. We made sure every child gets breakfast and lunch at school. We made it easier to go to college. We expanded civil rights, voting rights, and so, so much more,” McMorrow said.
While McMorrow was not forthcoming her reasons for suspending her campaign, funding might have been an issue.
Corporate PACs have spent heavily on Congresswoman Haley Stevens, with millions of dollars in ad-buys before McMorrow ever aired her first commercial. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running a campaign to the left of McMorrow and has also abstained from taking corporate PAC money.
Even though McMorrow is leaving the race, she said she will not leave the “fight.”
“So, here’s what we do next,” McMorrow said. “Every day through November 3, we win this Senate seat, and we send Mike Rogers back to Florida for good. Whoever wins this primary on August 4 will have my full support.”
Reactions from both sides
Stevens said she looks forward to working with McMorrow in the future, while also making her case as the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.
“Anyone who raises their hand to serve the people of Michigan and puts forward thoughtful ideas for how they would lead earns my respect,” Stevens wrote.
On the same day of McMorrow’s announcement, Stevens earned an endorsement from Attorney General Dana Nessel.
El-Sayed said people who are unhappy with corporate money in politics should consider his campaign.
“The reality of it is that $30 million of AIPAC spending that came in to drown out Senator McMorrow’s voice, that’s coming in an even uglier way against me,” El-Sayed said. “So I’m hoping that folks who supported Senator McMorrow wants to make sure that we have a voice in our politics.”
The Michigan Republican Party called both Stevens and El-Sayed “Marxist radicals,” asserting that Rogers will hold the future primary winner “accountable” for “turning their backs on Michigan’s families.”
What happens next?
Stevens and El-Sayed will face each other in a debate at Grand Rapids on Tuesday.
Mail-in ballots were already delivered, meaning McMorrow’s name still appears. People who have already voted and wish to spoil their ballot may do so at their local clerk’s office.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
The Republican gubernatorial race just had a major shake up with President Donald Trump making an endorsement. This week on MichMash, WDET’S Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss how surprising the endorsement was and what this means for the upcoming primaries.
Also, with Cheyna being back, we thought we would catch her up on the major political stories from the past couple of months and look ahead to see what the rest of 2026 has in store.
Why was it surprising that President Donald Trump made an early endorsement for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan?
Will the state budget get finished on time?
Who are the frontrunners in this year’s primaries?
Consider this episode as a catch up of all the major news that have been occupying your headlines and a preview of the stories that might come in the future. Like Alethia says in this episode, MichMash is a great summer activity.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The race for the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race has been one of the most fascinating in the country. It drew national attention when controversial political commentator Hasan Piker rallied with Abdul El-Sayed on college campuses.
Piker has millions of followers on social media, largely made up of people under the age of 30.
The move was immediately met with condemnation from El-Sayed’s opponents – Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and State Senator Mallory McMorrow.
Since then, El-Sayed has steadily risen in the polls.
In a conversation this week, WDET’s Russ McNamara asked Piker what he seeks in an ideal candidate.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Hasan Piker: A candidate self-identifying as a socialist would be great, but in the absence of that, I care about where their primary focus is. Are they going to center the needs of the working class in their agenda, or are they malleable to corporate interests? And those are the things that I pay attention to.
I think some of the telltale markers of a candidate’s responsiveness to the masses is oftentimes their attitude on the issue of Israel, which is a 90-10 issue on the side of the voters within the Democratic Party, but a 10-90 issue seemingly when it comes to Congress.
Another one is Medicare for all. The private healthcare provider industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and they spend a great deal of money to ensure that Medicare for all is not implemented, and I think that’s another great litmus test to see if a candidate will actually put the needs and the interests of the working class first over their interest in farming campaign contributions from these moneyed interests.
Ed. Note – Piker recorded this interview while in New York City to support the Democratic Socialist candidates in their primary election. All won.
Russ McNamara, WDET: Then it sounds like Abdul El-Sayed checks a lot of those boxes.
Piker: Yes, absolutely.
McNamara: Was it all part of that that got you to come out onto the campaign trail for him earlier this year?
Piker: Yeah, Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t call himself a socialist, but I still like him quite a bit because I think he’s a fighter, and that’s what Americans need right now. Americans need fighters in the Senate, they need fighters in the House of Representatives, fighters that will put their interests first, fighters that won’t even shy away from sometimes telling the rest of the Democratic Party—not just the Republicans—that the path that they’re heading down is wrong.
Abdul obviously demonstrated that interest, and he has been a fighter for Medicare for all for a very long time, I mean, he wrote a book about it. His gubernatorial run was around the implementation of Medicare for all, so he has established a lot of trust in these communities, and I trust them as well.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to UAW-represented public defenders during an informational picket on June 17, 2026.
McNamara: Kind of along those lines, when you came to Michigan in the spring, there was tremendous outcry in some circles. Congresswoman Haley Stevens said you were ‘divisive.’ Mallory McMorrow compared you to the white supremacist Nick Fuentes. What is your response to things like that? Because you seem to hear it a lot.
Piker: Unfortunately, this is the way that politics is conducted in this country. In most circumstances, people rely on the rest of the electorate not really knowing anything about me, and in the past this might have actually worked, because mainstream media and local institutions were capable of successfully gatekeeping outsider candidates and also outsider media figures.
Nowadays it’s a little bit different, especially because there’s so much diversity of choice in where people can get their news from, so people can come to me directly and figure out what I’m actually about, so that was one of the reasons why that smear campaign failed spectacularly, because people could just tune into my broadcast, or people were maybe somewhat familiar with what I represented, and they understood that these smears were simply being thrown in my direction, not because of any serious anti-Semitism that I’ve ever displayed.
I have not; I’ve actually combated anti-Semitism my entire professional media career and will continue to do so. I find it repugnant. It’s an odious form of bigotry, just like every other form of bigotry, including Islamophobia.
But the other reason why this smear campaign did not work is because a lot of people intrinsically now understand in the aftermath of three years of genocide, and a lot of establishment Democrats, and certainly the entirety of the Republicans, criticizing those who speak out against this genocide with these heinous accusations, a lot of people understand that this is not a person that is actually bigoted in any way, shape or form. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite. This is an anti-genocide advocate, and that’s part of the reason why he’s being called an anti-Semite.
Now, that dangerous conflation actually foments more anti-Semitism, which is, ironically, something that I’ve discussed quite a bit as well, for many, many years prior to October 7, and continue to do so now. But that’s why it didn’t work. It demonstrably failed, right? It fell flat on its face.
People started looking at Abdul’s campaign, people started hearing what he was saying, and they liked it… He was in third place before this smear campaign started, and now he’s comfortably in first place.
Abdul El-Sayed is a wonderful candidate. He has solid fundamentals. He’s probably one of the best candidates in the Democratic primary cycle this midterm season. Rhodes scholar, doctor, worked for Detroit Public Health, spent his entire professional life trying to heal people, and on top of that, he is against the genocide that Israel has committed, and that’s consistent with his values, consistent with my values as well, and yet he was not receiving a lot of media attention, that race in and of itself was not receiving a lot of media attention… and I guess Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow stepped on a landmine there and accidentally nationalized and publicized this (Michigan Senate) primary, and people actually started tuning in.
People started looking at Abdul’s campaign, people started hearing what he was saying, and they liked it. And lo and behold, he was in third place before this smear campaign started, and now he’s comfortably in first place.
McNamara: It seems like many within the Democratic Party still haven’t fully accepted the role Israel’s genocide in Gaza played in the 2024 election. I recently talked with pollster Adam Carlson about a recent Zenith research survey he did, and it had showed that Haley Stevens would lose a significant portion of people who identify as progressives in the general election, should she make it through the primary, less so for El-Sayed and McMorrow. Do you think this country’s views have shifted enough, and now unconditional support for Israel is seen as a political liability?
Piker: Absolutely, and that’s precisely the reason why AIPAC and AIPAC subsidiaries never actually reveal that the candidates that they’re fundraising for are pro-Israel. None of those ads, whether they be attack ads against their opponents or the ads in favor of their hand-selected candidates, ever mention this candidate’s point of view on Israel. If Israel was such a popular position, then they would proudly declare it. AIPAC wouldn’t need to use this opaque funding structure and find shell corporations to funnel money into by way of their donor network under the guise of United Democracy Fund, or Elect Women Fund, that was the one they used in Illinois in the Chicago primaries.
They do that because I think everyone understands that pro-Israel politics is demonstrably unpopular, and it’s only going to get less popular from this point on. I often throughout the genocide would say: going forward, today is the most popular Israel will be. Tomorrow, Israel will be less popular than it was today, and yesterday Israel was more popular than it is today. And that has been resilient.
There are constant demands for censorship against prominent critics of Israel.
That (pro Israel) attitude has shifted, and it will continue to shift as more and more people not only come to terms with Israel playing a destabilizing role in the region, but also the unbelievable amount of arrogance in display by those who are defenders of Israel and defenders of Israeli foreign policy.
I think that is oftentimes a less discussed aspect of the reason as to why Americans are frustrated with Israel, and it’s because there are constant demands for censorship against prominent critics of Israel. Some of those censorship attempts are actually successful, de-platforming initiatives that take place. I myself was banned from traveling to the United Kingdom only last month, and it was directly a consequence of my criticisms of Israel.
This kind of censorious attitude, especially when it’s the overwhelming majority’s position, is going to be unbelievably frustrating, and it’s only going to breed more enmity and hostility against the State of Israel. And outside of that there is this level of entitlement to unlimited funds coming from the United States of America, funds and weapons that Israel deploys on Palestinian civilians, on Lebanese civilians, as they’re doing currently, as they’re in the process of trying to disrupt the memorandum of understanding in a longstanding ceasefire negotiation that we might actually finally implement with Iran.
These kinds of destabilizing initiatives paired up with hubris, unbelievable entitlement and arrogance come across as very frustrating to the average American who is maybe uninitiated with the actions of Israel.
McNamara: Influencers are often brought up as a way for people to connect with younger voters. As you know, Democrats tried to do this to very mixed success at the DNC two years ago, but to you, what is the best way to gain the attention and the vote of the mythical younger voter?
Piker: I think it’s policies, ironically enough. In the post 2024 autopsy that was being conducted in public, a lot of Democrats went to mainstream media and decided the reason why Donald Trump won was because of Joe Rogan—and Joe Rogan was obviously the catch-all term for the podcast circuit, the manosphere.
Now, is the podcast circuit of the manosphere influential, especially in terms of converting young men to voters? Certainly, but ironically enough, they chose me as the left version of Joe Rogan because of my audience, because of the success I’ve seen in the independent sphere as the largest left content creator in these spaces that are inundated with far right and right-wing messaging.
The most significant issue is that the Democratic Party is not defined by a policy prescription for the problems that the working class faces in this country.
I told them over and over again, this is not an issue that you can podcast your way out of, that I myself am not the Joe Rogan of the left, and that Joe Rogan could potentially be the Joe Rogan of the left, and was the Joe Rogan of the left at some point when he endorsed Bernie Sanders. And that ultimately the problems that the Democratic Party are facing do not revolve around their lack of funding in messaging initiatives. That’s one element of the issue, but it’s not the most significant one.
The most significant issue is that the Democratic Party is not defined by a policy prescription for the problems that the working class faces in this country, and when they’re not defining themselves on those terms with left populous economic solutions: Medicare for all, an initiative in the direction of publicly funded housing, federal jobs guarantee, free college, these bold and somewhat radical agenda items that I think a lot of Americans are on board with.
Instead of doing that, the Democratic Party is constantly finding itself in a defensive posture against Republican culture war agenda items, and by not having a vision in the affirmative, they are allowing the Republican party to define the Democratic party, and that’s the reason why they keep losing. So it comes back to policies at the end of the day, because that’s the fundamental principle of theoretical democracy. We are going to vote an elected representative to represent our interests.
“What will you offer me?” This is the question that I think a lot of people understandably ask their elected representatives in the Democratic party, and their answers have so far been insufficient. I hope that this sequence of electoral defeats will light a fire under the Democratic Party, so that they don’t shy away from a more bold agenda, a more bold vision for change, especially because there’s tremendous appetite in the base of support for said bold agenda of change that centers the needs of the working class first and does not get bogged down with unnecessary culture war distractions.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Keweenaw County will become home to Michigan’s first public forest authority.
The Nature Conservancy purchased 32,000 acres of forest land in Keweenaw County in 2022. Recently, county commissioners voted to create a local board to manage 20,000 acres of land in partnership with the conservancy.
Robin Meneguzzo is the CEO of the Keweenaw Community Foundation. She says residents have four goals for forest management. “One is to protect the cultural and historical features of the land. One is to keep it a working, healthy, and intact forest, the third was to maintain government revenues, and the fourth was to maintain public access.”
Newly expanded legislation opened the door for the forest authority by allowing small rural communities in Michigan to manage their own forest resources.
Meneguzzo says the project is uniting members of the community. “This is a really amazing example of a community coming together that has very different views on how land should be used or managed.” She says 29 different groups worked together for around 4 years to complete the project.
Meneguzzo says the forest covers around 15% of Keweenaw County’s footprint and is used for hunting, fishing, foraging, and hiking.
Voters can choose forest authority board members in the November general election.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan is one of three states that nominates candidates for secretary of state and attorney general at party conventions. There is currently a push to put those nominations to the statewide primary ballot instead.
This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the factors being weighed with this decision. Then Lon Johnson, former chairperson of the Michigan Democratic Party, stops by and explains why he supports this proposal.
How do we currently nominate secretary of state and attorney general?
Reactions to this new proposal
Johnson says that having voters choose secretary of state and attorney general nominees allows for better representation for both the Democratic and Republican parties, as opposed to party conventions which are dominated by “insiders and special interests.”
“Anytime you have more people involved, you get a better reflection of society,” said Johnson. “It’s time to move forward and present this choice to the people of Michigan.”
The other two states that don’t use voters to nominate these roles are South Dakota and Indiana.
Johnson said roles that he and his group may focus on next includes Michigan Supreme Court seats and university trustees.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The Michigan Senate is set to lose three women of color from Detroit-area districts.
Erika Geiss, Stephanie Chang, and Sylvia Santana are all term limited.
Eboni Taylor is running in the 3rd district – and was recruited to run by Senator Chang.
There are 10 other people in the primary including: Kimberley Hill Knott, Latanya Garrett, Adam Hollier, John Conyers III, and Korey Hall.
Taylor is also the Vice President of Programs for Higher Heights for America, a political action committee with the goal of increasing Black women’s elected representation. Taylor spoke to WDET’s Russ McNamara about the challenges Black women face in campaigns and where she finds the most support.
Listen: Eboni Taylor on the obstacles Black women running for office face
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Taylor: All federal races, all statewide executive races, according to the state’s constitution, and the only local race that we partake in is top 100 cities for mayor. So, really excited that my organization, with me at the helm of the program and the political work, was very proud that we were able to support our now Mayor Mary Sheffield.
McNamara: Does Mayor Sheffield endorse your campaign currently?
Taylor: I think that Mayor Sheffield is currently staying out of it because it is an extremely crowded race. There are 11 people in the race, but I know that she does believe strongly in Black women’s leadership, and Black women stepping up and deciding to run. So, I do know that she holds that value.
McNamara: What are the challenges that go into getting a woman of color elected? Black women specifically.
Taylor: Women in general, it takes them four to five times to be asked to run before they say yes. A woman of color, it takes even more times for them to be asked before they decide to run, and when they do say yes, the issues that they face are numerous, but the number one issue is that it’s hard to raise funds. As the Vice President of Programs and the political work at Higher Heights, I’m in conversations with candidates all across the country, all different walks of life, and that is probably the number one thing that rises to the top, is that it’s hard to raise money in comparison to their white counterparts, to their male counterparts. It’s hard to get campaign staff that actually can put forth products and put forth a campaign that’s in their voice, because these are folks who are cookie cutting from campaign to campaign, instead of understanding that a Black woman’s voice and a Black woman’s way of running a campaign might be different, not always, but it might be different, and for us to not have just across the board, campaign managers, finance directors, who don’t understand the importance and the uniqueness of a Black woman or a woman of color running, we need more of that, and so those are probably the top two issues that we’re seeing.
McNamara: Does that surprise you? Since one of the key pillars of the Democratic base are Black women.
Taylor: Yeah, and Black women, we have been key to the Democratic party. We have been a very strong voting block. We have been essentially the architects, the purveyors, if you will, of democracy, and for us to not be at the helm, at the vanguard, and the forefront, is a problem. And I think that the Democratic Party, it’s high time for them to step up—and I think that they are—to see the uniqueness that Black women bring and the community and the network that comes with Black women, because we are at the center of our communities, we help support our immediate families. I was just on the doors with a woman who was talking about making sure she got to all of her neighbors on her block, that they got out and voted, or they submitted their absentee ballot, and so this is the work that Black women have been doing to ensure that they can feed their families, to ensure that they can go to work and not worry about being treated unfairly, and that’s the only way that they can do it if they do it themselves.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Login
