Question 1): Are U.S. Reps. John James (R-CD 10), running for Governor, and Haley Stevens (D-CD 11), running for the U.S. Senate, playing it too safe in their campaigns?
Answer 1):) Short answer, Yes. Longer answer, a little more complicated. Frontrunner James has been virtually invisible most of the past year, so much so that he drew boos at the Republicans’ recent state endorsement convention, probably because many delegates resent his arrogance (he just rejected another invitation from the Oakland Co. GOP to debate his opponents on April 30, after the filing deadline). Also, many disapprove of his refusal to accede to President Trump’s demand that he abort his gubernatorial run and instead defend his vulnerable seat in next fall’s 10th Congressional District race. Now, millionaire businessman Perry Johnson’s entry into the race for governor and rapid rise in the polls at the expense of James has caused the Congressman to recalibrate his strategy of “running out the clock.” We’ll see what happens next, although so far there’s not much sign he’s changed his modus operandi.
As for Stevens, she has never been a runaway frontrunner in the polls, but she’s held narrow leads over her two rivals — state Senator Mallory McMorrow and former health official Abdul El-Sayed — in the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. However, Stevens has never been a charismatic candidate (think “phlegmatic” and “uninspiring”), and her opponents’ personalities and energy have more appeal to voters. The three are within shouting distance of each other in fund-raising and the polls. Stevens has positioned herself as the most moderate of the three, backed by the D.C. Establishment. Is that where the Michigan Democratic Party is today? We’ll find out in four months.
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Question 2): How would a Perry Johnson win in the Aug. 4 Republican gubernatorial primary affect the Michigan GOP in the general?
Answer 2): Neither John James nor Johnson is the ideal candidate for the Michigan GOP. They both have serious flaws. If Johnson’s money wins him the nomination, he’s in danger of being laughed off the political landscape because of his avowed positions on getting rid of property and income taxes and, instead, just eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse.” In a three-way race with Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Johnson’s presence on the ballot would give a big boost to independent candidate Mike Duggan.
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Question 3): How is the issue of data centers impacting both Democrats and GOP?
Answer 3): This issue is tricky. Polls in Michigan and nationally show the electorate is mildly supportive of the idea of data centers as a component of economic development and jobs — so long as they’re built in a locale far, far away. But data centers aren’t likely to produce anywhere near the number of jobs as, say, EV battery plants.
Also, there’s a large NIMBY factor in play. The Biden Administration was identified with pushing data centers, but surveys today show Democrats are more opposed to them than are Republicans. The GOP is now identified with Big Tech corporations, and Donald Trump seems to have embraced this affiliation.
The right answer shouldn’t be a hard No on data centers, because that would push Michigan even farther back in the line behind other states in the race for jobs, jobs, jobs. We can’t throw ourselves across the railroad tracks of history and scream “Stop!” It’s inevitable that data centers are going to be built — the only question is whether they’re in Michigan or elsewhere.
In various Congressional and legislative races, it may come down to the local level and how voters in a particular district view building a data center in their “back yard.” One thing is for sure — support for data centers among voters is shallow and weak, whereas opposition is strong and far more likely to turn into votes for one candidate versus another. A candidate who can validate both the “pros” and the “cons” and tackle the rising cost of energy while protecting the environment will have the most success in winning a general election. Can anyone do that?
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Question 4): To what extent do Michigan Democrats use the abortion issue in 2026?
Answer 4): It’s very unlikely they will. Democrats, overwhelmingly pro-choice, obviously had great success with it in 2022, but now, having enshrined reproductive rights in the state Constitution, they can’t keep flailing away at this issue when there are so many other things going on — affordability, utility costs, gas prices, saving our natural resources, Israel, Palestine, the SAVE Act, ICE, and Iran as well as other issues. Making abortion a priority would be a waste of time and campaign money.
(After this article, TBR may hit the pause button for a couple of weeks, at least by email with a link. Readers should go directly to the TBR website every Sunday evening to check on whether there is anything there. Everything should be back to normal by May 1. Thank you for your patience.)
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Bill,
I have observed Haley Stevens work a crowd of 1200 voters in Kellogg Park Plymouth, before a music concert. She connects and asks for their vote. I will say no more
Totally agree with John this time….
Haley Stevens in the most recent polling has fallen behind Mallory McMorrow and is only one percentage point ahead of Abdul Elsayed.
I see college students wearing Abdul Elsayed sweaters.
Both Sen ,McMorrow and Elsayed will resonate more with younger Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens carries the unenviable weight of being a candidate ordained by the Washington establishment with the blessing of AIPAC with six million dollars in previous donations from pro-Israel PAC interests to her campaign committee in U.S. House runs.
Nice article, Bill. Hope the email thingy works out.
QUESTION 1: Probably. James has a YouTube commercial out from a retired Colonel that focuses on James’ military career and how he is trustworthy. I haven’t seen much from Stevens. Awaiting a coronation can be a problem, especially if your opponent is carpet bombing you with ads like Perry Johnson and getting a bunch of free air time like Al-Sayed (though association with Mr. Piker is not something I would seek). Regardless, it will make the next four months interesting.
QUESTION 2: Well, it he has a plan other than ritualistic incantation of “waste” (which is usually money you don’t want spent); “fraud” (which is more of an indictment of the state and county prosecutors); and “abuse” (which is an indictment of the legislature for not doing its appropriation job well). The audit sounds good, but is gimmicky as the Auditor General has neither the staff nor the budget to do it, and farming it out to someone like Deloitte or other firms strikes me as being not a bright idea. Buthe does nave a lot of money to spend, so we will see if it is spent well or not.
QUESTION 3: The data centers are a problem in a multitude of ways. First of all, there’s the manifestations of NIMBYism, though the objectors would take full advantage of their services when available. People fear traffic, ugly buildings, rising housing costs (which is both an advantage and a disadvantage depending on if you’re buying or selling). People fear rising energy bills. They have a point. We don’t generate enough energy (though some of that is the rush for renewables and ‘green’ energy) and data centers and AI facilities are energy hogs. In an earlier TBR, I suggested the old coal plant south of Pigeon Lake. If someone wanted to they could make that work and if Consumers Energy wants to sell some small hydroelectric dams to a hedge fund then buy the power back and exploit a 2023 law passed by the Legislature that gives lots of benefits to power companies that buy “renewables”, well they can make the coal plant work for data centers. And there is the litany of complaints over development, carpocalypes at rush hour and the like. The question that Lansing has not answered is whether or not they believe that data centers, AI facilities and the like are the economic future. If they are, they have to convince folks to build them, the power companies to generate the necessary power, and build the remaining infrastructure needed for them, beyond the tax cuts the GOP will insist on. But that requires leadership, of which there seems to be a deficit in Lansing.
QUESTION 4: The Democrats will probably mention it, but after Proposal 3, there is not much for them to yell about unless they demand taxpayer funding, unfettered abortions for minor children without parental consent, and eliminating conscience clauses of medical staff. And I am not sure that would be a winner for them. But then again, my fellow Michiganders voted to make Michigan safe for Kermit Gosnell, so you may not want to put money on my opinion on this issue.
Oops, a couple of typos.
Last sentence of QUESTION 2 reads “Buthe” but should read “BUT HE”. Next error, same sentence, says “nave a lot of money” when it should say HAVE a lot of money.
Mea culpa.
Tim/
Data centers provide very few jobs after their construction is completed, but they use prodigious amounts of electricity. The J. H. Campbell Generating Plant in West Olive is being kept in operation exclusively so Michigan electricity can be wheeled into PJM Interconnection. PJM just launched an emergency proposal to secure 15 gigawatts of new electricity generation to supply the surging AI data center demand. The 13 states in PJM will probably experience blackouts this summer, unless the weather is really cool.
Michigan can only afford to expand data centers if we repeal the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) of P.A. 295 of 2008 and its 2015 intensifications, P.A. 437 & 438. The artificial electricity diet created by our utilities and the environmental wackos will result in brownouts and blackouts with any significant addition of data center demand to the grid. EIA shows Michigan residential electricity prices increased 5.6% from January 2025 to January 2026. This was more than double the 2.4% overall U.S. inflation rate during the period. Overwhelm our grid with just one more data center and watch your utility bills skyrocket as DTE and Consumers have to bid up electricity wheeled in from MISO.
AI is going to happen. The good news is all the “learn to code” Marxist snobs with DEI degrees are going to experience the moped food delivery lifestyle for themselves. A whole bunch of very expensive college degrees will become worthless. A lot of commie colleges will close.
The bad news is quantum computing will soon be perfected and current technology data centers will become abandoned industrial relics much like the Packard Plant in Detroit. Quantum processors and memory use an infinitesimal fraction of the electricity used by current generation NVIDIA processors and SSD memories. Quantum computer output is a vast multiple of current AI computer systems. So today’s data centers will shutter and default on their loans, taking down trillions in wealth.
Rep. Pat Outman (R-Six Lakes) and 42 co-sponsors have submitted House Bill 5711 to eliminate the PA 295 Renewable Portfolio Standards. The bill does not prohibit renewables, rather it places them on equal footing with traditional energy sources.
Genuine economics would determine Michigan’s future electrical energy sources, rather than crony corporate capitalism operating behind the guise of woke politics.
Let me see, Bill, where do I begin . . .
wrt Q#1: Yes, too safe . . . except . . . we’re now seeing first blushes of James coming out of his shell. I expect to see lots more. Of course, I just saw my first ad for Aric Nesbitt, Shazam! Is he still around? Was that calculated? Or just some latent campaign $$ that needed to be soaked up?
I’ve made no bones of the fact I respect Haley Stevens. She does have a propensity to start slow (actually, comically even, considering her first speech she made in congress), but she learns fast and I expect her to “win going away” (that pun was for you Bill). And then I hope she gives Patriot Act Mike a thorough thrashing in the general.
wrt Q#2: While I certainly don’t expect Johnson to get anywhere close to his aspirations for tax relief should he actually acquire the governorship, I’d really be interested in seeing him try. Unless he has a few rabbits to pull out of his hat, though, I see James righting the ship and sailing on to victory . . . in the primaries. It’s Jocelyn Benson’s general race to lose.
Personally, I cater to the conspiracy theory (which I am originating and promulgating here first), that the entire field is shaking in their boots over dark horse, Ralph Rebandt, who was mysteriously cut short through a “technical difficulty” experienced on OTR the other day. I personally think someone saw his strength of character, not to mention platform policies, realized the threat, then promptly pulled the plug. I’ve voted for Ralph before and may well do so again, and not as a protest vote.
wrt Q#3: As usual, lost in the falderal, is the real reason for data centers. Besides the weak, “we need data for AI”, we lose sight of the fact the data, all of the data, concerns humans and human behavior. I recall I was told once shortly after being caught on unwanted videotaping back in the early ’70’s, “no problem, they don’t have enough data banks to save all that surveillance data . . .” So, what have the control freaks conjured up? Enough data banks to store everything . . . literally . . . everything. Several times over, in triplicate. Personally, I would rather give the control freaks a black eye and deny them their little Peeping-Tom windows on our lives. Gives me the creeps thinking about it. Shades of the Matrix.
And if we really drink the Kool-Aid and endorse these hideous things, then I say, take Elon Musk up on his dream and put them in outer space. I think his idea will win out in the end anyway considering the political fallout we’ve witnessed.
wrt Q#4: Does a leopard change its spots? Of course they will use the abortion straw man. There are always the abortion rights for transgender females . . . abortion rights for inanimate objects . . . abortion rights for space aliens . . . abortion rights for animals (wait, skip that, we’ve already got that) . . . well you know what I mean.
Stellar, Bill
I see John James picking up the nomination and breezing to victory in November to become Michigan’s first black governor.
Both John James and Mike Duggan will eat into vote totals the Democratic Party stronghold of Wayne County.
Duggan is remarkably strong among Wayne County and Detroit voters – and James’ historic candidacy will attract moderate and conservative black voters as well.
The real battle royale will be the fight for John James’ 10th Michigan Congressional District seat. Mike Bouchard,Jr. and Christina Hines are the two favorites currently.
The comment that “Making abortion a priority would be a waste of time and campaign money” hits a sore spot with me. That was a mistake of the Harris campaign in 2024. Not that abortion wasn’t an issue worthy of resources, but it was overdone at the expense of what affected the voters even more, the economy. Prices and inflation were crucial, and Trump had a major part in causing the inflation we experienced, but the Democrats didn’t bother to explain that to the voters. But that was yesterday, and Bill is right, it will be a minor issue this fall.
Abortion is primarily a states’ rights issue that bears little relevance to the presidency or federal law.
An exception is Medicaid-funded abortion.
Another exception would have been the Roe vs. Wade decision where constitutional rights to privacy and other constitutional rights were addressed. However the Dobbs decision in 2022 reversed Roe – holding no constitutional right to abortion exists.
Presidential campaigns need to stay out of abortion issues.
Forget abortion.
Michigan Advance is reporting racial warfare over University of Michigan Board of Regents candidates has erupted within the Michigan Democrat Party. The U of M Board is 6-2 Democratic and you can assume that whomever the Democrats endorse at this weekend’s endorsement convention will have the inside track to the Board come November 3rd. The story:
‘Democratic U-M regents race ablaze with infighting between Jordan Acker, challenger Amir Makled’
By Andrew Roth – April 15, 2026
This will echo the internecine warfare which has plagued Wayne State University. That factional warfare began in the WSU Board of Governors during 2019 and eventually enveloped their School of Medicine.
Everything is about power in the Michigan Democrat Party, never about actual issues. The Republicans need to hammer this point home during the Fall.
Right now Andy Anuzis and Christa Murphy have been the GOP candidates who will receive the nomination for Wayne State Board of Governors after running unopposed at the GOP endorsement convention.
If elected this fall, they shall join Terri Land, Dr. Mike Busiuto, and Sunny Reddy on the WSU Board and give Republicans their first board majority in decades at WSU.
Bloomberg ran a headline piece this week on voter revulsion to soaring electrical bills:
Electric Fury – Soaring power bills threaten to swing US elections
By Josh Saul and Ari Natter – April 13, 2026
Michigan gets mentioned prominently.