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BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: REPUBLICANS MADE UNUSUAL GAINS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL LAST FALL In an historic first, Michigan Republicans actually gained seats on County Boards of Commissioners statewide last Nov. 8, even though the GOP got wiped out at the top of the ticket, losing every statewide office on the ballot, some by double […]

Question 1): Was anything about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address last week memorable or significant? This was her fifth such speech, and the first since her Nov. 8, 2022, re-election. How did it compare with her previous S.O.S. performances? Was it in any way different? Answer 1): Of course, it was different, […]

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT, WITH A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY, PICKS REPUBLICAN CHIEF JUSTICE. BLOWBACK AGAINST JUSTICE RICHARD BERNSTEIN, WHO HAD CRITICIZED NEWEST JUSTICE FOR HIRING AN EX-FELON FOR HER STAFF, LEADING HIM TO RESIGN Question 1): Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth (Beth) Clement has been chosen by her colleagues, a majority of whom are Democrats, to be […]

WIDE-OPEN 2024 RACE FOR U.S. SENATE IN MICHIGAN — CAN DEMOCRATS HOLD ONTO THIS SEAT? Question 1): U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who has represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades, stunned Michigan’s political world last week by announcing that she would not seek another term in 2024. Stabenow, 72, of suburban […]

Michigan loses population for second consecutive year, but Detroit refuses to concede that it has, too Question 1): The number of people living in Michigan slipped for the second consecutive year, according to new census data released a couple of weeks ago. The state lost 3,391 residents, or 0.03%, from a year earlier to 10,034,113 […]

MICHIGAN’S DEMOCRATIC TRIFECTA; STATE TAX RELIEF ON THE HORIZON? MUST NEW MAPS FOR CONGRESS/STATE LEGISLATURE BE REDRAWN? Question 1): How will Michigan Democrats take advantage of their ‘Trifecta?’ Come January, Dems will control the Governor’s office, the state Senate and the state House simultaneously for the first time in four decades. Then what? Will they […]

Question 1): MIRS newsletter reports that Gov. Gretchen WHITMER has signed more veto letters in her first four years in office than any Michigan governor in at least a century, and that’s before she takes action on any of the 55 bills passed by the Legislature during its recently-concluded ‘lame duck’ session. Whitmer has signed […]

Happy Holidays from The Ballenger Report

Question 1): The weakest ‘lame duck’ session of the Legislature in at least two decades ended last Wednesday after a mere two active days. The session was aborted largely because of the collapse of a deal that would have green lighted $200 million for an Upper Peninsula economic development project in exchange for a niche […]

 Question 1): A panel within the Democratic National Committee (DNC) last Friday approved an historic resolution providing Michigan a waiver to host its Democratic presidential primary on Feb. 27, 2024. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee’s action would make Michigan the fifth state in line in the Democratic presidential nominating process. Under this scenario, South […]