It’s fitting that the final week-end before the 11/8 General Election features one of horse racing’s premier events, the Breeder’s Cup, staged at California’s iconic Santa Anita Downs. True railbirds care more about whether California Chrome can win the Cup’s showpiece, the Classic, than if a sagging Hillary Clinton can hold off a fast-closing Donald […]
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The Fighting First: Johnson vs. Bergman
Could Lon Johnson be happy in Congress? Only in the unlikely event Democrats regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Otherwise, he’ll be in for a miserable two years. But let’s back up. Who is Lon Johnson, anyway? He’s the 45-year-old Democratic nominee in Michigan’s First Congressional District, the second-largest land mass CD east […]
Trump vs. Clinton: A Week to Go!
With only a week left until the Nov. 8 general election, Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) asked Bill Ballenger for answers to four questions: How much impact is the story that the FBI has reopened its email/private server investigation of Hillary Clinton going to have on the presidential race? Answer: Maybe 1-3 points — […]
10 Days Till the Election–What’s Going On?
The latest Friday Morning Podcast discusses what is going on 10 days before Election Day. We might also talk a little MSU hockey.
Next U.S. Supreme Court: Que Pasa?
It’s looking very likely that the next President of the United States will be Hillary Clinton. Less certain is whether Republicans in the U.S. Senate will lose their majority on Nov. 8 and, if so, by what margin. Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court is operating with eight justices due to the death of Justice John […]
Odds on Next Month’s Big Races in Michigan
A lot of races, many candidates, multiple polls, tons of speculation — but what are the ODDS (in horse racing parlance) of what will happen in the three weeks that are left of Campaign 2016, particularly as it relates to Michigan? Back in July, The Ballenger Report established odds and correctly forecast that U.S. Senator […]
Michigan’s Term Limits Are Toughest in Nation
… and, despite a key state legislator’s interest in tweaking them, they’re almost certain to stay that way, at least for the time being. Why can’t term limits for Michigan lawmakers and other officeholders be altered, extended, or done away with completely? Three reasons, really: Nobody dares undertake an effort to get a constitutional amendment […]
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is Still Mighty Unpopular
It’s a mystery why Michigan Democrats appear so worried that Gov. Rick Snyder’s new TV ads on behalf of state House Republicans might be doing a lot of damage to Dems’ prospects in this year’s general election. Snyder’s ad campaign ties together kudos for his own performance as the state’s CEO with the candidacies of […]
Gubernatorial Succession: The Story Nobody Knows
Dick Posthumus might still become Governor of Michigan, but he wouldn’t like the circumstances and the pay isn’t very good, either. Posthumus, a former state Senate Majority leader and Lieutenant Governor, lost a fairly close race for the state’s top job to Democrat Jennifer Granholm in 2002. He now serves as a senior adviser to […]
Michigan GOP Hammered by Federal Judges, and It May Get Worse
The Michigan Republican Party has just lost three straight HUGE court decisions on straight-ticket voting (STV), and it’s primed to lose a fourth next week in the U.S. Supreme Court. Should straight-ticket voting be allowed to continue in Michigan, where it’s been in place for the past 125 years? No, says the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature […]