Weekly news and analysis of Michigan politics by the professional journalists of MIRSnews.com
Are Michigan voters looking at the nation's most expansive abortion proposal? John Bursch, vice president of appellate advocacy for the Alliance Defending Freedom, argues why that is the case.
The Michigan Supreme Court justices got a little "sassy" in their opinions in the closing weeks of session in the opinion of Justice Brian Zahra. He talks about that and his re-election effort.
And Chris DeWitt of DeWitt Communications and John Pugh of Truscott Rossman talk about the Attorney General asking for a special prosecutor in the election tabulator theft case and Tudor Dixon's choices for Lieutenant Governor.
Why did the James Craig for Governor campaign fail? John Yob, Craig's former senior consultant shares his insights on that, his biggest regret with the Perry Johnson campaign and the odds he gives Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon of being successful in the General Election against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Sen. Ken Horn talks about his new book, "Letters to Heaven," the story about the letters he sent his 2-year-old granddaughter, Zellie, and how he's worked through the grief of her loss.
And Bill Ballenger of the Ballenger Report gives predictions in 11 key primary races this Tuesday.
It's a different story for each Republican gubernatorial candidate and their campaign finance numbers. Craig Mauger of the Detroit News and Simon Schuster of MLive, both former Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN) directors and MIRS reporters, break down the stories behind the numbers.
Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-Port Huron) talks about running in the same district as Rep. Gary Eisen (R-St. Clair), House Republicans coalescing around Rep. Matt Hall as their next leader and more (39:54).
HD-103 candidate Betsy Coffia raises $188,000 in 2022 through more than 1,800 donations in her Traverse City/Leelanau County district. The Democratic County Commissioner talks about her accomplishment, why she wasn't surprised when Roe was overturned and more. (22:25).
Jamie Swafford, the running mate for Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley, shares her background and answers several questions from the America First questionnaire being circulated by activist Debra El.
Amid Michigan’s unpredictable GOP gubernatorial race, which Republicans are poised to do best? We’ll ask pollster Steve Mitchell of Mitchell Research and Communications.
Also Jeff Litten of Secure MI Vote weighs in on last week’s debate among those candidates.
Monday was the signature deadline for Constitutional amendment proposals in Michigan. MIRS has an update, including news of a record-setting signature count for one proposal.
And in the wake of a new state budget, what’s the outlook for Michigan’s revenue and tax landscape? We’ll hear from Robert Schneider of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Tyler Theile of the Anderson Economic Group.
A highly centralized budget-making process produced a record $76 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget by July 1, but not without some transparency issues.
How can seemingly sane individuals dive into conspiracy theories? Robert Saler, an Indiana-based research professor of religion and culture, explores this subject in light of theories of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election and the QAnon phenomenon.
Also, how is "Trucker" Randy Bishop, who got his political start as a Tea Party Republican in 2010 running as a Democrat in 2022? He answers this question and apologizes for comments he made earlier this year on his radio program about how a family should be a "white mom, a white dad and white kids."
What's the significance of 56 America First candidates running for Congress and the state Legislature? We speak with one of those candidates, Matt Seely of the new 8th Congressional District.
Also, state House candidate Emily Stivers talks about the challenge of women candidates being targeted for their appearance and the importance of abortion on the 2022 ballot.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she takes no joy in seeing "insurrectionist" candidates like Ryan Kelley take hold in the Republican Party. State House write-in candidate Jon Rocha in the 78th District talks about the popularity of "America First" candidates like Kelley. Also, Senior Capital Correspondent Tim Skubick says he believes "our democracy is at risk."
Ryan Kelley further muddles a wide open Republican gubernatorial race, U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer shares a conspiracy theory and Adrian Hemond of Grassroots Midwest talks about the state House races and that the current map constitutes a racial gerrymandering.
