The August 4 primary is a day away after months of campaigning, tens of millions of dollars spent and a flood of ads in inboxes, on TV and on the web.
As of Thursday, June 30, more than a million Michiganders had cast a ballot early and in person or by absentee voting.
WKAR's Senior Capitol Correspondent Rick Pluta says some big issues might be driving people to the polls.
"There's the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Iran, and how that's affecting gas prices here at home and then the other thing is data centers, which is just a huge issue in both statewide and federal races."
Pluta says after the votes are counted, he's going to be looking into the demographics of who cast their ballot and what those numbers might say about what could happen in the November general election.
"One of the other things I'm going to be trying to keep an eye on is, you know, the federal government is sending in election monitors, and Lansing and East Lansing are among the places that they've said they want to have people stationed," he said.
"The Republican Party has made no secret that they are planning to use the primary election as kind of a test run for their, you know, voter integrity efforts. So, we'll see how that plays out as well."
Pluta says after Election Day, it won't be long until the winning candidates will get right back to campaigning with new challenges for the ones who were in especially contentious primaries.
"What just happens the day after to try and start the healing, so that everybody who voted in your party's primary remains motivated to also participate in the general?" Pluta said.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee ballots must be turned in by the time polls close to be counted.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: It's finally here. After months of campaigning, plenty of mailers in your inbox and a boatload of ads on your TV, the primary is tomorrow.
Our senior Capitol Correspondent Rick Pluta is here with us to talk about the next 24 hours and beyond. Hi Rick.
Rick Pluta: Hi.
Saliby: Are you hanging in there?
Pluta: I am. I am hanging in there and looking forward to the post-primary respite before we just cruise into the general.
Saliby: I was seeing this on Friday, but as of last Thursday, more than a million Michiganders had cast a ballot so far. That's a 14% turnout rate.
We can expect that to grow with more early voting, more absentee ballots, and then Election Day itself. What does that level of voter participation say about this election?
Pluta: Yeah, right. I mean, the primary isn't actually tomorrow. It's already underway, and I think what it says, I think there are two things, and one of them is that people are just getting used to, you know, these multiple options for how to vote, and for some people, getting it out of the way earlier rather than waiting until Election Day is just the easier way to go.
The other thing is that this is a very, very, very high interest election. That I mean, just to name two issues: one national, one local is, you know, there's the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Iran, and how that's affecting gas prices here at home and then the other thing is data centers, which is just a huge issue in both statewide and federal races. And so, there's just a lot of interest and a lot of excitement built around these elections.
Saliby: And where will you be on election night?
Benson: As of right now, I will be at the Jocelyn Benson primary night party.
Saliby: And of course, we're we're going to have reporters at other major campaign parties throughout the state, and coverage of that on Morning Edition the next day on Wednesday. So, we will have everybody there, but you'll be at Benson.
What's something you're going to be watching for in results that maybe isn't at the top of mind for for other folks?
Pluta: Certainly, you know, just the demographics of turnout and voting. Are we going to see a surge of nontraditional voters? Are we going to see a surge of younger voters coming out? And what does that, you know, maybe portend for November?
One of the other things I'm going to be trying to keep an eye on is, you know, the federal government is sending in election monitors, and Lansing and East Lansing are among the places that they've said they want to have people stationed.
And the Republican Party has made no secret that they are planning to use the primary election as kind of a test run for their, you know, voter integrity efforts. So, we'll see how that plays out as well.
Saliby: Yeah, for me, I've just always been interested in what young voters are doing probably since the 2020 election, these young millennials, new Gen Z voters who are casting a ballot for the first time, who they're voting for, when they're voting, how much they're voting, and what they care about.
Pluta: Yeah, and we have some really, really contentious races, especially the U.S. Senate race, and so, I mean, what just happens the day after to try and start the healing, so that everybody who voted in your party's primary remains motivated to also participate in the general.
Saliby: You're kind of leading right to my next question. You know, this is only the primary. Can we expect the winning candidates to turn right around to get straight into campaigning for the general? Am I going to get more ads, like, on Wednesday and Thursday?
Pluta: I think it's entirely possible, you know, exactly that. That, you know, I suspect that a lot of people will want some kind of a respite afterwards. But this is a very, very competitive year in Michigan. That, you know, in the statewide races, you know, we've got some competitive congressional primaries.
We've got a U.S. Senate contest that could determine majority of the Senate in the final years of the Trump administration. So, that sort of brings it back around to that that very, very high interest, and so we're going to see a lot of fundraising.
We're going to see a lot of campaign spending. We're going to see a lot of campaign spending by external groups whose spending is not limited by candidate campaign finance limits, and so, I mean I think that we can expect the messaging deluge to continue.
Saliby: Rick Pluta is our Senior Capitol Correspondent. Thank you for joining us, and good luck on election night!
Pluta: Well, same to you, Sophia.
