Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said that she’s feeling good about the Michigan House races, with control of the chamber for the next two years on the line.
“It’s competitive, and that’s what fairly drawn districts give you, competitive races. It’s a good thing, frankly, in the overarching scheme of things, but we’ve got better candidates. We’ve got receipts on the issues that matter to Michiganders, and we’ve got a great ground game. So I’m feeling good, but I think it’s gonna be close,” Whitmer told the Michigan Advance during a brief stop in Brighton Saturday to fire up volunteers for the final push to election day.
Joining Whitmer at the Livingston County Democratic Party headquarters for the campaign stop was former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-East Lansing), who is battling former state Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) for the 7th Congressional District seat, and state Rep. Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor Twp.), who is seeking reelection to her 48th District seat against Republican challenger, Brian Ignatowski.
Currently, Democrats have a slim 56-54 majority in the House, with all 110 districts on the ballot Tuesday. Even just the loss of one seat could potentially set up roadblocks to continuing the priority list of progressive legislation Democrats have achieved since taking the majority in 2022, including repealing Right to Work, expanding civil liberty protections and instituting firearm safety measures.
While Whitmer is confident Democrats will prevail and retain control, she says she’ll remain focused on leading the state forward, regardless, during her final two years in office.
“I worked with an overwhelmingly Republican, Trumpian legislature my first term, and still got some good stuff done. But certainly, as we think about the work yet to do, I would love to have more allies in the Legislature. No one wants government that works against one another, that demonizes one another, that just breaks down and doesn’t actually make people’s lives better. So I’m hopeful that at the conclusion of this election that I’ve got a lot of allies and a lot of people that’ll work with me from the Legislature.
“I got two years left. I got a lot I want to get done,” said Whitmer.
Conlin echoed that sentiment, telling volunteers that she represents a truly swing district that encompasses progressive areas around Ann Arbor up to “super-conservative” Howell.
“I am knocking mostly in Livingston, getting all these Republicans telling me they are Never Trumpers. They are coming over, and I really see it every single day. So we’ll get anyone that hasn’t voted to vote and have the conversations. Although now we’re just trying to get out the vote, and make sure everybody has a plan,” said Conlin.
Hertel said he understood that Democrats, especially in a conservative area like Livingston County, might be somewhat nervous about what the election would bring, but he saw every indication that they would get the results that they were all working so hard for.
“This is what I will tell you. In close elections, ground game wins; enthusiasm wins; hard work wins,” he said. “At the end of the day that’s what actually wins elections. And what I see is people across this district voting in record numbers. Women voting in record numbers, because they know what’s at stake. We know that we are in a fight for our future and our kids’ future.”
Approximately 75 volunteers were crowded into the small meeting space and Whitmer encouraged them to keep up the pace until the job was done.
“Thank you for putting everything out there on the line in this cycle. We know that the whole world’s watching Michigan because we are one of our handful of states that is going to decide the outcome of this election,” said Whitmer. “I mean, this is a big deal for our country. So I thank you for everything that you’ve done.”
The governor said there are conversations to be had, even with households that have voted Republican for 40 years, noting recent comments by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that if the GOP retains its majority in Congress they would try and repeal the CHIPS Act.
“Do you know how many jobs in Michigan rely on us on-shoring the supply chains? I mean, this is a big deal for our country. So I thank you for everything that you’ve done. I ask that in the next few days, you stay caffeinated. You stay motivated. If you happen to run into a vegetable, eat it,” said Whitmer to laughter from the volunteers.
She then closed on a more somber note.
“You will recognize that the kids are gonna be OK if they eat pizza every meal between now and the election. They won’t be OK if we come up short,” said Whitmer.
The Advance asked Whitmer if she was taking her own advice and getting in some vegetables while campaigning across the state.
“Yes! I drink green smoothies every morning, and then I eat cupcakes all day,” Whitmer smiled as she prepared to get to her next stop.
“I’m feeling good. I really am. I think there’s nothing more exhausting, but also more energizing for me, than the campaign trail. So it’s a lot, but I’m having some fun along the way.”
Whitmer fires up educators in East Lansing
Whitmer headlined a canvassing launch for Democrats Saturday morning at the Michigan Education Association (MEA) in East Lansing. The event also featured Hertel and University of Michigan professor Kimberly Ann Thomas, who’s running for the Michigan Supreme Court against state Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale).
MEA Vice President Brett Smith spoke about the importance of educators getting involved in politics.
“I can’t think of another profession where who is elected to office matters more than education,” Smith said. “Most decisions about public education, big, small … are made by elected officials.
“We’re all here today because we understand the future of our students, our families, our state, and yes, our nation, hang in the balance of this election,” Smith added.
Hertel talked about his family’s history of being educators in Detroit, contrasting his background with that of Barrett.
“He was one of the most anti-education members in the state House and the state Senate, voting against every single education budget” and record funding for schools, Hertel said.
The Michigan Advance asked Hertel about the Cook Political Report shifting the 7th District race to “Lean Republican” in the final days.
“We know this is going to be a tight race,” Hertel said. “When you look at the boots on the ground that we have, you look at the early voting, you look at the energy that’s actually happening across we have a better [chance] in a close election that’s what wins races.”
When asked about voter registration and early vote turnout among students at Michigan State University students, which is in the 7th District, Hertel said that the MSU Dems are now the largest college Democrats of America Chapter in the country.
“We are working every day on the ground to get students out to the polls,” he said.
Whitmer said the election is close, but Michiganders are used to having “tight races.” And she said she’s “confident Michigan is going to show the world that we are a strong part of the blue wall.
“We have a better ground game than the other guys do. Yeah because I’m talking about you,” she said to the MEA members in the crowd. “So we gotta pull out all the stops.”
The Advance asked Whitmer about comments from former President Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson about repealing the CHIPS Act and what impact that could have on Michigan.
“It’d be devastating,” Whitmer said. “You know, it’s really irresponsible for Donald Trump and his running mate [J.D. Vance] to undermine the Michigan economy because it undermines the American economy. … It would undermine not just those auto jobs, but all the suppliers, the communities that are, depending on this growth, this transformation that’s happening.”
The event ended with MEA members lining up to sign Whitmer’s bus and take photos with the governor before they headed out to canvas.
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence.
