The Ballenger Report

  Question 1): The Michigan Democratic Party convention closed last weekend without gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson on stage at the same time as Abdul El-Sayed and the rest of the Democratic ticket. Defeated Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Haley Stevens, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Attorney General Dana Nessel didn’t show up. Neither did any Democrat in […]

SAVE THE DATEIn celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of theDeclaration of Independence, the Ballenger Eminent Persons Lecture Series at Mott Community College in Flint, in partnership with The Griffin Endowed Chair at Central Michigan University, invites the community (and beyond) to join us for a public keynote address by presidential historian andPulitzer […]

  Question 1): Does it feel as though the Michigan gubernatorial campaign is the undercard to the U.S. Senate race this year? Answer 1): Absolutely. The last time this could be said to be true was 1966, when the battle was between incumbent Robert (Bob) Griffin, a Republican, and former six-term Michigan Democratic Governor G. […]

Question 1): Before multi-millionaire businessman Perry Johnson was defeated Aug. 4 in his bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, he announced his support for the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP) ballot proposal, declaring that Michigan’s elected officials “must be accountable to the voters, not the powerful special interests flooding campaigns and legislative districts […]

Question 1): Republican gubernatorial nominee John James has picked two-term state Rep. Jay DEBOYER (R-Clay Twp) to be his Lieutenant Governor running mate. DeBoyer, a former St. Clair Co. Clerk, is currently chairman of the House Oversight Committee and has conducted a number of highly visible public hearings targeting Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who […]

  Question 1): What jumps out at us from the August 4 results? Answers):  There are a number of them  — * More than half a million more voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary than in the Republican primary — that’s  61.1% of the vote for Dems, only 38.9% for the GOP. Contrast those figures […]

Question 1): U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, who as everyone knows is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, has taken to calling herself a “geek” in the closing days of her campaign. This past week, she told supporters: “There’s those cool kids on the Internet doing the cool kid chatter. Some of […]

Former state Rep. Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham), an attorney, served in the Michigan House from 2007-12. During his last term, he was chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Before that, he was a member of the Birmingham city commission and was elected mayor in 2000. Then he served half a dozen years on the Oakland Co. Board […]

Let’s start with the best article that’s been written so far on this perplexing subject, by the new sole owner/publisher/editor of the Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) newsletter, Kyle Melinn. Melinn is on something of a roll — this past week, he bought out MIRS majority shareholder John T. Reurink, who co-purchased the publication […]

Question 1): One of the most fascinating questions of the looming fall campaign for Michigan Attorney General will be whether putative Democratic nominee Eli Savit, currently the Washtenaw Co. Prosecuting Attorney, can successfully distance himself from his own record as a public official. Savit has taken heavy flak from Republicans, independent voters, and even from some […]