Looking back on Michigan’s top political stories of 2025

2 January 2026 at 20:30

There were a lot of defining political moments in 2025 that made the year stand out.

This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss some major stories and look ahead to 2026.

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

In this episode

MichMash hosts’ top political moments of 2025
The state of major races heading into 2026.
What stories should we look out for in 2026?

Overview

Pluribus News politics journalist Reid Wilson said “Michigan is the ‘we matter’ state,” on MichMash last month. Zach echoes this, pointing out how things like the senate race has made “Michigan the epicenter of politics in the midterms in 2026.”

Zach also spoke about the dynamics of the candidates.

“We’ve got the first legit Democratic primary for U.S. Senate since 1994. Three really strong, viable candidates. But then we’ve got on the Republican side, it appears they’ve consolidated support behind Mike Rogers. And for the most part, he’s just going to be waiting to see who emerges as the Democrat.”

Beyond elections, Zach also has his eye on the Michigan legislature. He thinks recent inertia will continue because of Speaker Matt Hall’s intention to not get involved what he described as “small things”.

More from WDET:

And although there was an agreement after the budget was decided to focus on economic development, Alethia said those plans may be falling apart. “I think the House and Senate could come together and put together [the] top wants of both. It’s just a question of…is there the willingness to get that done, especially if this is more of a Governor Gretchen Whitmer priority and less of a legislative priority?”

The Michigan legislature will come back to session by mid January 2026.

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The Metro: The two Republican frontrunners in the governor’s race

WDET 101.9 FM

Sam Corey

6 November 2025 at 18:54

Political junkies have their minds on the elections that just happened this past week. But one year ahead, there are a lot more elections in the state.

That’s true for the governor’s race, where a slate of Democratic and Republican candidates, in addition to an independent candidate, are running for the seat.

Currently, Congressman John James and former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox are in the lead for the Republican nomination. Why? And, what do they need to do to win?

Producer Sam Corey spoke to longtime Michigan Republican strategist Jeff Timmer to find out.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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