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Tag: Michigan Democratic Party

  • Opinion: Duggan, please don’t hand Michigan’s governorship to Republicans – Detroit Metro Times

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    Let’s be very clear about this. If Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan runs for governor as an “independent,” it will hand the Republicans the governorship. Period.

    All you need is elementary school math to figure this out. At least 40% of the electorate will vote reflexively for any Republican. They could nominate a cardboard cut-out and 40% of voters would still pull the “R” lever. Then when Betsy DeVos weighs in with her billionaire money, count on at least a few more percent. Let’s say the absolute minimum for any Republican candidate is 45%.

    The simple math here is that a strong Democratic candidate, running alone under a unified Democratic Party, has an excellent shot at beating any Republican in 2026… especially given the likely bad taste from so many in response to President Donald Trump. (In that scenario, the out-of-state big money Republicans would write off Michigan and not pour in their millions into the campaign.)

    But if the “non-Republican” vote is split by having another Democrat-type person running as a third party independent, a Republican could easily win the election with 45% of the vote! (Particularly since Duggan would largely draw votes from the Democratic stronghold of Detroit.) Moreover, that scenario would open the floodgates of out-of-state Republican billionaires to pour money into the campaign. (In fact, you can already see that much of Duggan’s campaign is being funded by Republican interests… in hopes of creating that three-candidate scenario.)

    In addition to this obvious self-destructive math, there is no plausible argument that Michigan needs a third party “moderate” alternative in the executive branch. The leadership in Michigan under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (and Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson) has certainly not been “extreme left”… and quite frankly has been very successful in many regards. The period of 2023-2024 when the Democrats held the trifecta of Governor, House, and Senate, saw some tremendous policy successes. The currently leading announced Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Benson, has shown to be a very effective administrator, and by no means at all someone with extreme partisan views. Duggan’s proposed third party candidacy is a solution in search of a problem. But worse yet, it would without question allow the election of a MAGA type candidate that the Republicans are most likely to nominate.

    Finally, let me disabuse anyone who thinks that Duggan could actually attract Republican votes and win the election. Once he is officially on the ballot, all this early Republican money pushing his campaign will move to support the Republican candidate… and Mr. Duggan will be branded with the “Double-D” curse that will ruin any chance of getting out-state Republican votes. After all, no matter how he labels himself, Duggan is the Democratic mayor of Detroit.

    The 2026 election is going to be absolutely crucial for the future of Michigan. There is so much at stake, and the differences between the two parties could not be more extreme. This is not the time for an ego-driven exercise or some kind of protest vote.

    Please Mr. Duggan, if you care about the future of Michigan, and your beloved Detroit, end this ill-fated independent campaign. Surely there is some other way you can make a meaningful contribution to all of our futures.


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    Martin Kushler Ph.D.

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  • Detroit public defender Bill Noakes launches bid for Michigan AG – Detroit Metro Times

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    William “Bill” Noakes, a longtime public defender and professor, announced Tuesday he is running for Michigan attorney general, positioning himself as the only Democrat in the race who has never been a prosecutor and could become the first Black person to hold the office.

    Noakes, who has practiced law since 1982, is the fourth Democrat to enter the 2026 race. His opponents — Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, and former U.S. Attorney Mark Totten — have all been prosecutors. 

    Noakes said he is proud of his career defending people against the formidable power of police and prosecutors.

    “As a public defender, every day I fight for the rights of those who face the combined weight of the police, prosecutors, and even some judges,” Noakes said. “In that fight, I have no fear.”

    In his campaign launch, Noakes cast himself as a defender of democratic values, invoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech and warning those rights are being eroded under President Donald Trump.

    “We saw what happened with Jimmy Kimmel,” he said in a video announcement of his candidacy, referring to the comedian’s show being pulled after pressure from Trump’s administration. “We know how this administration is treating people who are not Christian nationalists. This is a country where people have different religions and worship differently, and that right must be preserved.”

    Noakes said voters deserve an attorney general who will fight against the Trump administration’s attack on constitutional rights. The Trump administration, he said, is deliberately stoking fear. 

    “This administration intends fully to strike fear into the everyday lives of people, whether it’s a farmer, whether it’s an immigrant, or whether it’s even somebody such as Jim Comey, the former FBI director” who was indicted last week, he said. “It’s time we put a stop to this. That’s what I intend to do.”

    He added: “I’ve never looked for a fight, but I certainly have never turned away from one. I do not believe that we can simply say, ‘Oh, this will pass.’ It will not pass unless we make it happen.”

    Noakes’ wide-ranging career includes serving as a captain and judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force, with assignments in Korea, Belgium, and the Pentagon. He later worked on General Motors’ legal staff, became a partner in two Detroit-area law firms, and served as Wayne County’s deputy corporation counsel, where he successfully sued the state to renovate the Davison Freeway. In 1998, he joined the independent counsel’s office that prosecuted former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy for corruption.

    He has also taught at the University of Chicago Law School, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Southern Methodist University, and Grand Valley State University. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and holds a master’s and law degree from the University of Chicago.

    Noakes cast his candidacy as a fight for Michigan residents who feel their freedoms are under siege. 

    “It’s not just a race for me,” he said. “It’s a race for all of us.”

    Democrats will select their candidate for attorney general at the party’s convention in 2026. That sets up an inside battle for support among activists and party loyalists.


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    Steve Neavling

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  • Palestinian American activist sues Michigan Democrats over ‘voting discrepancies’ for seat on U-M Board of Regents

    Palestinian American activist sues Michigan Democrats over ‘voting discrepancies’ for seat on U-M Board of Regents

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    Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American activist, filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Democratic Party on Thursday, alleging she may have been cheated in her quest for the Democratic nomination for a seat on the University of Michigan Board of Regents.

    Arraf claims the party’s process of selecting two nominees for the board on Aug. 24 was marred by voting irregularities, discrepancies, and a lack of transparency.

    “We cannot be confident in the results that have been announced,” Arraf said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s an affront to the electoral integrity, which we should take seriously.”

    According to the official results, Arraf was defeated by incumbent Democrat Denise Ilitch and former regent Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs, who left the board in 2020. Diggs garnered more than 2,800 votes, while Ilitch received over 2,400 votes, according to the official tally. Arraf, founder of the International Solidarity Movement and an international civil rights lawyer who represented students in civil rights cases demanding the university’s divestment from Israel, received more than 2,300 votes.

    At the convention, there were 1,248 voters present, Arraf said, but more than 1,420 voters were identified in the final tally. She also believes Democrats were allowed to vote after the 4:39 p.m. deadline to cast a ballot.

    According to the party’s rules, the votes were proportionally weighted by county using a formula based on Democratic turnout in the most recent even-year election. This weighting system is intended to ensure that the final results accurately reflect the preferences of Democratic voters across the state’s counties. The system leads to drastic differences in the value of each person’s votes.

    In the popular vote, before the ballots were weighted, Arraf said she defeated Diggs by about 120 votes and Illitch by about 210 votes.

    Arraf said her problem isn’t with the weighted system, but with how the votes were counted.

    According to her account, Arraf said there was missing data, and to address the issue, the party counted raw data in a tabulation area, where she and her staff were forbidden to enter. Meanwhile, other candidates, their families, and current regents were allowed in the tabulation area.

    When the votes were announced, Arraf had lost. She said she repeatedly asked party leaders for the raw data, but they declined to turn it over.

    The data she did receive showed discrepancies, she said.

    “That is greatly distburning because you have a situation where the leadership of the Michigan Democratic Party was put on notice that there were problems with the validity of the data they have given us, not even the raw data, and they should want to clarify this so we can be confident of the results, and I received no response to that,” Arraf said.

    Arraf’s lawsuit was filed in the Ingham County Circuit Court.

    Arraf said the process was demoralizing and comes at a time when Michigan Democrats should be inclusive and welcoming. She noted that she was accompanied by hundreds of new participants who supported her.

    “If you don’t feel like your voice and participation will count, then there is no incentive to get involved,” Arraf said. “And that is not what we want, especially in the time that we are now, leading up to the November election, knowing how much of a threat a potential [Donald] Trump presidency can be, and that is why we are further dismayed at how the Michigan Democratic Party has seemingly not cared about the fact that they have disenfranchised and disillusioned the hundreds of new members that came to participate in the convention,” Arraf said.

    The Michigan Democratic Party did not respond to requests for comment.

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    Steve Neavling

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  • Michigan women rise in politics, but funding disparities exist

    Michigan women rise in politics, but funding disparities exist

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    Joe Maroon

    Gov. Whitmer was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 1, 2023.

    Michigan women are making gains in state politics, ranking 14th nationally for the number serving in the legislature.

    However, the latest analysis reveals funding disparities are a concern. The Center for American Women and Politics said men’s campaign donations are outpacing those from women and it could be limiting women’s voices and influence in the political arena.

    Kira Sanbonmatsu, a researcher at the center, said more women run as Democrats in Michigan and they are raising a higher percentage of funds from small contributions.

    “This is a pattern that we often see across states, particularly for Democratic women,” Sanbonmatsu reported. “What this means is, they may not have access to large-dollar donations to the same extent as men, and they may need to make it up by financing with these smaller contributions.”

    She noted women have historically faced financial challenges in politics, lacking the same access to funding as men. And with fewer women as incumbents, they miss out on the financial advantages of holding office.

    Sanbonmatsu pointed out the research showed the financial disparity in politics hits women of color the hardest but the challenges they face are different depending on where they live.

    “We’ve been finding that this depends on the state,” Sanbonmatsu explained. “In states where women are more established as candidates, they’re more likely to be incumbents, they have an easier time raising money.”

    She added early data show women are less likely to self-finance their campaigns, which creates more challenges compared to men, who often have had greater financial resources.

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    Chrystal Blair, Michigan News Connection

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  • Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

    Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

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    Jim West/Alamy Live News

    Two days ahead of Michigan’s Presidential primary election, a rally in Hamtramck urges voters to choose “uncommitted” instead of Joe Biden.

    In the United States, the Democratic President runs for re-election even though it is clear to both his friends and to his foes that he is not as sharp as he once was.

    In Eastern Europe, the wily dictator in Moscow goes on the muscle. Among other targets, Poland ranks high on his list. And in the Middle East, the very existence of Israel is being debated.

    “Arabs would choose to die rather than yield their land to the Jews,” the Saudi king warns the American President.

    You’ve probably guessed by now that we’re not talking here about 2024; or about President Joe Biden of the United States; or about President Vladimir Putin of Russia; or about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

    Instead, it is a flashback to 1944 — 80 years ago — from the book His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt, by the late Joseph Lelyveld. (Full disclosure: I enjoyed working for Lelyveld at The New York Times).

    Published in 2016, His Final Battle chronicles the 1944 campaign, the end of World War II, and Roosevelt’s death in 1945, at the start of his fourth term, as the Cold War began. In some ways, this timely book reminds us that history doesn’t always repeat itself but sometimes it echoes and rhymes.

    Although every analogy wears thin when extended, one thematic through line of current events seems distressingly similar to circumstances of eight decades ago: the world of global power politics is shifting again and the American electorate will have a significant voice in how it changes.

    Which brings us to Dearborn, to Arab Americans, to Muslim Americans, to young antiwar voters, and to the possibility that this segment of the Michigan electorate in November could steer the state and choose the fate of the nation and the world.

    And that could bring the return of former President Donald Trump, a large, loud, orange-faced, yellow-haired demagogue who is now older, meaner, and more reckless than three years ago when he tried to cling to power by sending lynch-mob rioters to the Capitol to murder Trump’s own vice-president.

    Crunch the vote numbers. Trump won Michigan by 10,000 votes over Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost to Biden by 154,000 in 2020. Both times, Michigan backed the winner. But last week, more than 100,000 voted “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary as a protest against American support for Israel.

    Should those numbers increase — and should the war and the boycott of Biden carry into November — the absence of these Democratic voters could tip the tilt toward Trump in Michigan, one of a handful of “battleground states” expected to decide the Electoral College.

    If so, as we did eight years ago, we will again toss our car keys to the loudest, biggest, crudest drunk in the bar and we will once more say to him, “Here you go, Butch! You get us home.”

    And what might that ride be like?

    In his first term, Trump harassed Muslim Americans and Arab Americans at airports with his “Muslim ban.” He tormented brown-skinned immigrants at the southern border by splintering Latin American families apart when they entered from Mexico.

    Trump now vows more vicious crackdowns with internment camps and deportations. He and his followers dehumanize immigrants as “illegals” and blame them for crime.

    “Our country is being poisoned, it’s really being poisoned,” Trump told personal fluffer Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel. “I call it migrant crime.” At Eagle Pass, Texas, last week, Trump spoke of a “Biden migrant crime wave.”

    It matters little to Trump or to his Make America Great Again supporters that serious crime is down and that immigrants generally break the law less than American citizens. Ignore that. What matters most is that scary image of a Venezuelan man arrested for murdering a Georgia student while she jogged.

    His dark face is in heavy rotation on Fox. You must understand, America, that, in the MAGAt view, this mug shot represents all immigrants and they must be feared because they bring drugs, sex slavery, and welfare abusers to our nation. Yeah. Because Trump says so. OK, pal?

    Plus, they will take our jobs and vote Democratic. So, be afraid, America! Build that wall! In two recent trips to Detroit’s blue-collar suburbs, Trump has used blood metaphors to suggest that immigrants contaminate American genes and that foreign nations export lunatics and mental patients.

    In Clinton Township last fall, Trump said immigrants are “destroying the lifeblood of our country.” Would he dare say such a thing in Dearborn? Fat chance. A proud and convicted sexual predator who was recently found guilty of (and fined for) financial fraud, Trump has called his opponents “vermin.”

    That kind of talk went out of style around the time of Roosevelt’s death, but Trump revives it now for an appreciative audience. Will voters in and around communities like Dearborn and Hamtramck (and around the college campuses) evaluate their binary choice this autumn in a realistic calculation?

    Who’s best for them: Biden or Trump? Would Biden ever call them “vermin?”

    In the meantime, another of Trump’s TV family — Brother Tucker Carlson — goes to Moscow to kiss the rear end of Putin, Trump’s political pal. Carlson also praises the goodies at a Russian grocery store and marvels at the cleanliness and beauty of the city.

    All this just before Putin’s main opponent dies under mysterious circumstances in a prison in Siberia. Since being fired by Fox and striking out on his own, it is as if Carlson cannot decide whether he wants to be Charles Lindbergh or Tokyo Rose.

    Those who have studied the Roosevelt era and World War II will recall that Lindbergh — the star-crossed aviator — took up the “America First” cause and national isolationism before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 and Japan attacked the U.S. Navy in 1941.

    Lindbergh got too close to Nazi Germany and his political career crash-landed. Trump and others of his Republican party are using the same scare tactics, urging protectionism and isolationism mixed with racism disguised as nativism. Among many right-wing media contenders, Carlson is the best at this.

    Tokyo Rose was the collective nickname for the female radio propagandists (more than one) who broadcast from Japan to American soldiers and sailors during the war in the Pacific, subtly whispering subversion into their ears along with songs from home that the men may have missed.

    Even all those years ago, sinister people figured out how to use the medium of broadcasting to manipulate minds and undermine truth. Today’s fools like Hannity and Carlson are simply the current generation of user-friendly tools who twist the truth in traitorous ways.

    And from his glass coffin in Moscow’s Red Square, the long-embalmed Lenin is laughing loudly (with a Russian accent?) at two, new useful idiots.

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    Metro Detroiters join global day of action calling for ceasefire in Gaza

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    Joe Lapointe

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  • Flint mayor Neeley warns Democrats of Black voter exodus

    Flint mayor Neeley warns Democrats of Black voter exodus

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    Michael A. Naddeo/City of Flint

    Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley.

    Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley is sounding the alarm on the Michigan Democratic Party, saying it’s alienating Black Democrats and taking African American voters for granted.

    The longtime Democrat, who previously served as chair of Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and is the current chair of Black Mayors of Michigan, says the party “needs to have a courageous conversation” about disenfranchisement.

    “It’s really leading into the original sins of this country of exclusion and oppression,” Neeley tells Metro Times. “It looks different but it feels the same. This is the sentiment that I know is being spoken about in Michigan.”

    Polls show an increasing number of Black voters are pulling away from the Democratic Party. Among Black voters nationwide, the Democratic Party’s advantage over Republicans in party preference has dropped by nearly 20 percentage points over the past three years, a recent Gallup poll found.

    In Michigan, 92% of Black Michigan voters cast a ballot for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, according to exit polls. But Biden’s support among Black voters has fallen to just 62% in a January EPIC-MRA poll.

    That could spell serious trouble for Biden as it becomes increasingly likely that he will face Donald Trump in the November general election.

    Biden is also hemorrhaging support from Michigan Muslims and Arab Americans because of his refusal to call for a ceasefire as Israel continues to massacre Palestinians. A campaign called “Listen to Michigan” is urging voters who disapprove of the Biden administration’s backing of Israel’s war in Gaza to select “uncommitted” on the ballot to pressure Biden to push for a ceasefire.

    It’s no wonder that a recent poll showed Biden trailing Trump in Michigan by four percentage points.

    In an op-ed in the Michigan Chronicle on Wednesday, Neeley laid out his concerns that the Michigan Democratic Party was taking Black voters and leaders for granted.

    “It seems a glass ceiling has resurfaced to block experienced and well-qualified Black Democratic candidates from reaching elected office at the federal level,” Neeley wrote. “This translates to Black voters feeling taken for granted and ignored by the Democratic party. At this critical juncture in our country’s political trajectory, far too many qualified Black elected officials are being boxed out of elections for higher office and left wondering whether they still have a place in this ‘big tent party.’”

    Neeley pointed to wide support among Democrats for newly drawn state legislative districts that diminished the influence of Black voters. A panel of federal judges recently ordered Michigan’s redistricting commission to redraw more than a dozen Detroit district lines because they weakened the political empowerment of Black voters.

    Neeley also said the Michigan Democratic Party failed to engage Black elected leaders when U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee announced he won’t seek reelection in 2024 for a seat that covers Flint and Saginaw, two cities with a large African American population. While the open seat is a good opportunity for a Black leader, the party isn’t showing a desire to elect an African American, Neeley said.

    The only Black member of Congress from Michigan is a Republican.

    “These developments should serve as a wakeup call to all Democrats,” Neeley wrote. “Instead, it increasingly appears as though some in the party are choosing to ignore these glaring warning signs that the Black electorate is being ignored and disrespected.”

    Sam Riddle, political director of the Michigan National Action Network, a civil rights organization led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, says Black Democrats are becoming more dissatisfied with the party.

    “I have spoken with Mayor Neeley and share the mayor’s concerns,” Riddle said in a statement. “I have been involved in Michigan and national campaigns for more than fifty years. I have never seen more dissatisfaction with Dems other than the Vietnam War Era.”

    Riddle added, “President Biden’s unwillingness to force a ceasefire in Gaza and the racist arrogance of Michigan Democrats is a perfect storm for Dems losing Michigan in November.”

    Neeley said the party has to begin addressing concerns among Black voters.

    “If we keep doing what we are doing, we risk losing the support of talented elected leaders of color, and soon, the voters who supported them,” Neeley wrote. “The Democratic Party must not squander the trust of loyal Black voters and the candidates they trust to represent them.”

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    Steve Neavling

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