MichMash: How Donald Trump broke the ‘blue wall’ in Michigan
President-elect Donald Trump won Michigan this week in what was expected to be a very close presidential election. In this episode of MichMash, Zach Gorchow of Gongwer News Service speaks with Senior Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick about how the former President defied the experts and secured a victory in Michigan on election night.
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In this episode:
- Why Donald Trump over-performed in Michigan
- The sea change in the Michigan House of Representatives
- What’s to come in Michigan politics in 2026
Trump made a surprising comeback, handily winning 74 counties in Michigan despite losing the state in 2020. Skubick says this shift was largely attributed to high turnout among male voters, especially in regions outside of the typical “Trump country.”
“What Mr. Trump was able to do is he defied the experts who didn’t think he could get enough of those couch potatoes, men mostly, off of the couch and into the polls. And that’s exactly what he did,” he said. “He overperformed by 500,000 votes compared to what he did in 2016. I mean, game over.”
Skubick also noted that Vice President Kamala Harris’ late entry into the race and her focus on critiquing Trump rather than promoting her own platform may have hurt her chances significantly.
“Ms. Harris, I think, made a huge mistake,” he said. ”You have to give people a reason to vote for you rather than a reason not to vote for the other guy or person. How they missed that is incredible.”
More from WDET:
- MichMash: Jemele Hill on the changing dynamics of the Black vote in Michigan
- Created Equal: Examining the future of conservative politics under Trump
- The Metro: Retired UAW member shares why he proudly supported Donald Trump
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