The November elections are just two months away, and both parties have made their slate of candidates official following conventions this month.
But that doesn’t mean it’ll be smooth sailing until November 3 for either the Democrats or Republicans.
WKAR Capitol Correspondent Colin Jackson says this past weekend's Democratic convention was relatively "boring" with the absence of major party leaders and candidates already set.
"There really wasn't a lot of places for disagreement or dissent to pop up. Democrats literally printed "unity" on the badges," he said.
Despite that focus on unity, top candidates on the party's ticket will face unique challenges. For Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, that might be distinguishing herself from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and defending her tenure as Secretary of State. Attorney General candidate Eli Savit and Secretary of State candidate Garlin Gilchrist may have to fight to get their message out because they're farther down ballot.
Jackson says Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing an uphill battle of his own as Republicans label his policies too extreme and try to pick off Democratic voters.
"You still see attempts from Republicans to peel off some Jewish voters and moderate voters who may be uncomfortable with the way El-Sayed frequently attacks the Israeli government or AIPAC, the Israeli lobby, during the primary race," Jackson said. "He's going to need to do more to smooth over relationships with some of those core Democratic constituencies."
On the Republican side, Jackson says candidates must play to the base of Trump supporters while also focusing on their own track records as President Trump's disapproval rating rises.
"You have to balance this act of being your own independent voice, letting the voters know what you're going to do for Michigan, you know, refocusing it to the economy, or maybe not even refocusing it to the economy so much as refocusing it to your core messages," he said.
For Republicans that may be running on business-friendly polices or on a message of making Michigan a better place to raise a family.
Other than the candidates, Jackson is keeping an eye on two petition initiatives. One that's already made it on the ballot focuses on barring utilities and large government contractors from making political donations.
Another is making a legal argument to be placed on the ballot after signatures were rejected by a state elections board. That campaign wants to tighten voter ID laws.
He says both parties may be looking at the initiatives as ways to motivate turnout in November.
Interview Highlights
On the Democratic convention held over the weekend
It was a pretty boring convention, and what I mean by that was there really wasn't a lot of places for disagreement or dissent to pop up. Democrats literally printed "unity" on the badges. That was a major message here. It was a much smaller convention compared to what we saw in April when they actually picked the candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and all the other statewide offices. So, this was the party faithful. These were the door knockers. These were the people that are going to be making phone calls. They were out. They were excited about their candidates, and it more or less went off without a hitch.
On the challenge some down ballot Democrats may face
If you're Attorney General or Secretary of State, you know these are their own races. I don't want to dismiss them at all. At the same time, you know, I think there's a lot of air and oxygen being given to the races at the top of the ticket, and so, you know, if you're Garlin Gilchrist running for Secretary of State, if you're Eli Savit running for Attorney General, I think you need to just get your message before voters and let people know who you are because these races aren't being watched as much.
On Republicans' campaign messaging this fall
Republicans told me that they want to run on a message of availability. They want to run on a message of making Michigan a better place to do business, making it a better place to raise a family. You're going to want to focus on those issues instead of your relationship to Trump when you talk to the general public. At the same time, you're going to need to still excite your base, and some of that is by campaigning, let's say, with Vice President JD Vance.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: We are just two months away from the November elections, and both parties have made their slate of candidates official following conventions this month.
But that doesn’t mean it’ll be smooth sailing until November 3 for either the Democrats or Republicans.
Colin Jackson is one of our Capitol Correspondents, and he joins us now to discuss the tough campaign season ahead. Thank you for being here.
Colin Jackson: Thanks for having me.
Saliby: You were at the Democrats' convention this past weekend. This was being highly watched as, you know, some internal divisions made their way into the party following the primary. What was the energy like in the room?
Jackson: To be honest with you, it was a pretty boring convention, and what I mean by that was there really wasn't a lot of places for disagreement or dissent to pop up. Democrats literally printed "unity" on the badges. That was a major message here.
It was a much smaller convention compared to what we saw in April when they actually picked the candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, and all the other statewide offices. So, this was the party faithful. These were the door knockers. These were the people that are going to be making phone calls. They were out. They were excited about their candidates, and it more or less went off without a hitch.
Saliby: So, looking ahead, what challenges do you think the statewide ticket of Democrats will have to overcome to try to win in November?
Jackson: I think it depends on which candidate you are. Democrats are trying to run this one united campaign again, but I think the candidates face different issues, right? If you're Jocelyn Benson running for governor, I think, for you, the main challenge is still setting yourself apart from Gretchen Whitmer, while also still need to overcome some of the long-term attacks that Republicans have levied against her over the years, like how elections have been run.
Versus if you're the Senate candidate in Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, it's a little bit different. A lot of the attacks against him are going to be that, you know, he's taken too extreme positions. There is definitely some racism at play in terms of some of the attacks we've seen against him, especially around his faith or his name.
But also you still see attempts from Republicans to peel off some Jewish voters and moderate voters who may be uncomfortable with the way El-Sayed frequently attacks the Israeli government or AIPAC, the Israeli lobby, during the primary race, and so he's going to need to do more to smooth over relationships with some of those core Democratic constituencies, like moderate voters, like Jewish Democrats.
If you're Attorney General or Secretary of State, you know these are their own races. I don't want to dismiss them at all. At the same time, you know, I think there's a lot of air and oxygen being given to the races at the top of the ticket, and so, you know, if you're Garlin Gilchrist running for Secretary of State, if you're Eli Savit running for Attorney General, I think you need to just get your message before voters and let people know who you are because these races aren't being watched as much.
Saliby: So, what about Republicans? They seem to be unified as a party, but they could face their own difficulties with a rising disapproval rating for President Trump, right?
Jackson: Yeah, exactly. And this is kind of the paradox of being a Republican right now, where Trump is underwater here in Michigan in terms of approval rating. At the same time, he remains incredibly popular with the base.
You know, John James won the Republican primary race. A lot of that was in part thanks to President Trump's endorsement. That's true for a lot of the congressional races that won their primaries as well, including for his replacement, you know, Trump's endorsement in that race really put Mike Bouchard Jr. over the edge.
And so, you have to balance this act of being your own independent voice, letting the voters know what you're going to do for Michigan, you know, refocusing it to the economy, or maybe not even refocusing it to the economy so much as refocusing it to your core messages.
Republicans told me that they want to run on a message of availability. They want to run on a message of making Michigan a better place to do business, making it a better place to raise a family. You're going to want to focus on those issues instead of your relationship to Trump when you talk to the general public. At the same time, you're going to need to still excite your base, and some of that is by campaigning, let's say, with Vice President JD Vance.
Saliby: In these last 30 seconds we have left, what else are you watching for as we get closer and closer to Election Day?
Jackson: I still want to know what's going to happen with some of these ballot initiatives, right? We've talked about Mop Up Michigan. They're going to be on the ballot. This is the one that would limit political giving from some utilities or large government contractors.
There's a proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by the campaign, Americans for Citizen Voting, that wants to tighten Michigan's voter ID laws that require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Of course, you need to be a citizen registered to vote, but they want to tighten that, make it more secure. And the question of whether or not that's going to make it to the ballot is before the Michigan Supreme Court, and I think Republicans are looking for that as a motivating factor this November.
Democrats are looking at the Mop Up Michigan petition as a motivating factor, and I'm wondering how that's going to affect things because we haven't seen as much attention given to those.
Saliby: Colin Jackson is our Capitol correspondent. Thank you for joining us.
Jackson: Thanks, Sophia.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
