Israel's war in Gaza has become a major dividing line in Michigan’s Democratic Senate race as more voters begin sympathizing with Palestinians.
The post El-Sayed defies Democratic Party’s establishment on Gaza in Senate race appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
The three Democrats vying for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat agree that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has grown increasingly brutal under President Donald Trump, but they are sharply divided over whether the agency can be fixed at all.
The post El-Sayed stands alone in Michigan’s Senate race by calling to abolish ICE appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Federal immigration agents have been involved in at least 30 shootings since President Trump returned to office — eight of them fatal. In almost every case, the administration declared the agents’ actions justified before any investigation was complete.
Two of those killings happened in Minneapolis within three weeks of each other: Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24. Both were U.S. citizens, age 37, and in both cases, masked federal officers opened fire, and the Trump administration’s initial accounts were later contradicted by video evidence.
Their deaths spurred protests across the country and accelerated a growing push by local and state governments to impose limits on federal immigration agents.
In Detroit, City Council member Mary Waters has introduced the Alex Pretti Detroit No Masks Ordinance, which would prohibit any law enforcement officer — local, state, or federal — from concealing their face while performing their duties in the city. The proposal has been referred to committee but has not yet received a vote.
At the state level, the Michigan Senate held hearings last month on a package of bills aimed at how federal immigration enforcement operates in the state. They would ban law enforcement masks, bar ICE from operating in schools, hospitals, and houses of worship, and prevent state agencies from sharing data with federal immigration authorities.
Former Detroit Police Chief Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon was among those who testified in support of the bills.
McKinnon joined the Detroit Police Department in 1965. Two years later, during the 1967 Detroit uprising, fellow white officers pulled him over while he was in full uniform, put a gun to his head, and shot at him. During that same period, officers across the department were removing their badges to avoid being identified. McKinnon survived — and stayed on the force. In 1993, Mayor Dennis Archer appointed him Detroit’s second Black police chief. Over five years, he overhauled the department’s approach to community trust.
Now 82, McKinnon told Michigan senators he sees the same pattern repeating: officers who conceal their identities operate without accountability.
He spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about how local police should respond to this moment.
Use the media player above to hear the conversation.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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The post The Metro: A former Detroit police chief spent his career building trust. He says ICE is dismantling it appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican running for U.S. Senate, is again facing accusations that he’s more of a Florida resident than a Michigan one, after resuming campaign activity from his Cape Coral home for more than a week in November and recently joking on a right-wing radio show that he would rather be “on the beach in Florida” as Michigan braced for a winter storm.
The post Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers campaigns from Florida as carpetbagger questions return appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright and his fiancée, Carley Johnston, are urging Michigan’s top lawmakers to approve legislation that would ban painful experiments on dogs at taxpayer-funded institutions, joining a growing push that has already drawn support from Wright’s teammate Sam LaPorta and several high-profile Michigan natives.
The post Lions players urge Michigan lawmakers to approve ban on painful dog experiments appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
In Michigan, hundreds of millions of dollars that people are counting on remain frozen.
Last year’s state budget included roughly $645 million in “work-project” funding for things like local roads, public safety, and community services. But in December, House Republicans voted to block it. With that money still on hold, projects aren’t moving.
The Democrat-controlled Senate voted to restore the funding.
This week, Attorney General Dana Nessel said the committee didn’t have the constitutional authority to do that, calling it an improper “legislative committee veto.”
House Republicans are considering a court challenge.
Meanwhile, lawmakers debate tax breaks for data centers, how cannabis revenue should be used, and the regulation of consumable hemp products—decisions that affect utility bills, road repairs, and small businesses.
Politics reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Colin Jackson, joined Robyn Vincent to break down the constitutional fight over the funding freeze and what it reveals about power, process, and everyday life in Michigan.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
The post The Metro: Power, money and silence — Michigan politics this week appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Abbas Alawieh is running for state senator in District 2. The newly drawn district includes Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and parts of Allen Park and Detroit.
“I think in this really difficult moment, this divisive moment in our politics, I want to run to represent every single person in District 2 like they’re my own family,” he says.
Alawieh previously worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Representatives Andy Levin and Rashida Tlaib. He also served as chief of staff to Congresswoman Cori Bush.
He co-founded the Uncommitted National Movement, which aimed to pressure then presidential candidate Kamala Harris to address U.S. policy on the war in Gaza.
“My specific experience is at the intersection of being on the inside of government and knowing how it works, and then mobilizing people, voters, reaching folks who our party, our system has lost touch with,” he shares.
Alawieh says the Democratic party focusing on war takes away from local issues.
“What that actually does is it deprioritizes the needs of working families here at home,” he says.
He’s focused on caring for people like family.
“My priority is going to be representing every single person like they’re family to me. And so I have to enter this next period of my service really listening and learning,” he explains.
Alawieh says he grew up in a family that values service.
“Service of community is something that is deeply entrenched in my own family’s experience,” he says.
He hopes to bring in as many resources as possible to District 2.
“I want to become a state senator that wields the power of a movement of people that will come together around this campaign to say, ‘hey, District 2 is here to play. ’ We’re going to show up with our values, with our leverage, with our people power.”
The election for State Senator takes place on November 3.
The post Uncommitted movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh runs for District 2 state senator appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
With proposals of large-scale data centers spreading across Michigan, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Thursday released what he called “terms of engagement” aimed at protecting communities from higher utility bills, grid strain, and environmental harm.
The post Senate candidate El-Sayed says data centers must protect communities or stay out of Michigan appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Congresswoman Haley Stevens is vying for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in a highly contested field. In this episode of MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sit down with the representative to see what makes her different from her opponents.
In this episode:
Correction: Congresswoman Haley Stevens is endorsed by the Mayor of Highland Park, not Hamtramck.
Stevens is often compared to other established Democrats like U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell or even Governor Gretchen Whitmer. These comparisons are sometimes used to present Stevens as out of touch with the new generation of politics. Stevens says the focus should be more on meeting the needs of Michigan residents.
“I was Michigan’s first millennial to the United States House of Representatives. I’m not an ageist. I think the goal is representing all of Michigan and getting results for Michiganders.”
She also stated that leaders like Gov. Whitmer’s popularity alongside her own ability to get things done should be embodied.
Stevens also addressed the comparison with her fellow Democrat opponent Mallory McMorrow, and how they seemingly appeal to the same voters.
“I think poll after poll shows I’m the only Democrat who can beat (Republican opponent) Mike Rogers,”she said. “We need a dogged advocate for Michigan. And I think some of the unique attributes that I bring to this race for the United States Senate is that I am Michigan’s workhorse.”
The election for the open Michigan U.S. Senate seat is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
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WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the major stories and look ahead to 2026.
In this weeks episode Senator Gary Peters shares why he is not running for reelection, plus
updates with the rank choice voting initiative
In this episode, we sit down with Rep. Haley Stevens to discuss what makes her different from the other candidates.
The post MichMash: Congresswoman Haley Stevens makes her case for US Senate seat appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers has assembled a campaign team of extremist pastors and activists who have long opposed LGBTQ+ rights and promoted false claims about election fraud, a Metro Times’s review shows.
The post U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers builds team of religious bigots, election deniers appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
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