Former Chicago Mayor, Obama Administration White House Chief of Staff, member of Congress, U.S. ambassador to Japan and possible Democratic presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel slipped into Michigan for a day, to test the waters for a presidential run — including an address Tuesday to the Detroit Economic Club.
Emanuel mentioned as part of his proposed agenda a six-month national service requirement for high school seniors, a $10,000 bonus for military members who sign up for apprenticeships after they leave the service and plans to improve student reading and math skills.
But mostly, he told business and not-for-profit leaders that people have lost confidence in government too caught up in political drama.
“There is a palpable anxiety,” he said. “I don’t care race, I don’t care income, I don’t care background, the one thing we all have as a foundation, we are anxious about tomorrow, and we don’t think we are taking care of business anymore.”
Emanuel said 2028 will be the first election since the Obama administration that will be about the future instead of litigating the past. Michigan is a presidential swing state that went for President Donald Trump in 2016, and for President Joe Biden in 2020. The state went for Trump again in 2024.
“We’ve had 20 years of elections, MAGA, Build Back Better, that is retrospective. You can’t drive 55 miles an hour living through the rearview mirror.”
The next presidential election is still two years away, but it’s never too early to start campaigning in a large Midwestern state with a critical mass of persuadable primary and general election voters. The field of Republican and Democratic prospects is already big.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, also mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential contender, is slated to address the Detroit Economic Club in March. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is also on lists of prospective Democratic presidential candidates.
Michigan Democrats are also making their case to ask the Democratic National Committee for permission to move the state’s presidential primary date into the 2028 “early window period.” That would also require approval from the Legislature, which is divided between a Republican-led House and a Senate controlled by Democrats.
