Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is expected to announce whether he will make another run for the city’s top job this week.

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Duggan has helped guide the city as it emerged from the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in U.S history. And this year, Duggan reached one of his long-sought goals — that Detroit’s population had grown after decades of decline.

Many observers believe the three-term mayor could launch a bid to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2026, though it’s unclear how much name recognition Duggan has beyond Detroit. 

—Reporting by Quinn Klinefelter, WDET

 Other headlines from Monday, Nov. 11, 2024:

• President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations is causing concern among Michigan’s immigrant communities.
• The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is providing a $1 million grant to help build 60 new units of affordable housing on vacant land in Detroit’ Corktown neighborhood.
• Hamtramck voters approved a $2.7 million non-homestead millage for the Hamtramck Public Schools District.
• Stellantis is laying off 400 workers at a logistics facility in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press reports the automaker notified the affected employees last week. The company also announced plans to eliminate a shift at a Jeep factory in Toledo early next year, cutting more than 1,000 union jobs. Stellantis is under pressure to cut costs due to falling sales and profits. The United Auto Workers criticized the layoffs, accusing corporate leaders of mismanagement. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

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.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Election integrity has the spotlight as the presidential election takes center stage in these last five weeks of the campaign. MichMash host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sit down with former Gov. John Engler and former Lt. Gov. John Cherry to discuss the launch of the Democracy Defense Project in Michigan and how they aim to rebuild confidence in our nation’s electoral process. 

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• First Michigan House voting session since the end of June
• The Democracy Defense Project plan to combat election misinformation
• Election integrity and the need to bolster voter confidence

Engler and Cherry have joined a broader effort to combat misinformation and attacks related to election security and ballot-counting in swing states ahead of November’s general election.

If the 2024 election is like the 2020 election, the results most likely won’t be delivered the night of Election Day. Cherry says part of the goal of the new Democracy Defense Project branch is to calm Michigan voters who may be upset about that and to encourage their trust in the process.

“In Michigan, the counting is straight forward. We’re a reactive organization. So I mean, part of our job is to look at what kind of comments are being put in front of Michigan citizens and, and say, ‘Hey, look, that’s just not accurate,’ or, you know, it doesn’t deserve that kind of response,” he said. “You know, it’s not just a matter of being critical or being disappointed.”

In regard to building confidence in the electoral contest all together, Engler said the best solution is to communicate with the public.

“We’re talking to folks like you. You’ve got audiences that are out there. And when you’re hearing from us through your — more importantly, your listeners are hearing from us. I mean, we’re people who’ve been through collectively, a lot of elections.” said Engler.

He said that communication from trusted folks with credible histories can combat against the misinformation we are seeing on social media.  

More from WDET:

• Shortage of local clerk candidates in Michigan raising concerns about election integrity
• May 12, 2022: Trump supporters holding “election integrity” summit
• Democratic org announces $500K investment in Michigan House races

More from Gongwer News Service:

• Legislature moves $125M more to school mental health, safety; makes retirement changes permanent