Through the general election on November 6, on the MLC Blog we will be highlighting races for which due to the voter base the seat could be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate.  Candidate’s website and professional information is listed when available.

Commentary

The race to represent almost 10 million Michigan residents is being highly watched, both in the state and nationally. To try to decipher who may be the front runner we could look at historical data. In Michigan, the last five governors have flipped between parties:

• Republican Governor William Milliken (1969-1982)
• Democratic Governor James Blanchard (1983-1990)
• Republican Governor John Engler (1991-2002)
• Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm (2003-2010)
• Republican Governor Rick Snyder (2011-2018)

Historically, it seems the Democratic candidate should have a distinct advantage over the Republican candidate. However, there are other factors at play. Will the potential blue-wave trickle down to state races? Since Michigan’s economy is doing better, will voters attribute that to Republican policies and in turn vote for the party’s candidate? How much will President Trump’s support of Republican candidate Bill Schuette help him; either turning out Republican voters or will Democratic voters be energized to get out to vote as a referendum on his policies? Furthermore, midterm elections always tend to favor Republicans, will that be the case this November? Both major party candidates have strong credentials and have run successful campaigns in the past. At this point, it’s up in the air who will win this November, but it is sure to be an interesting race.

Democratic Candidate:

• Gretchen Whitmer – Attorney, former Michigan Senate Democratic Leader, former Ingham County Prosecutor, served in the Michigan House of Representatives for six years

Republican Candidate:

• Bill Schuette – Michigan Attorney General, former Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, served three terms in Congress, former State Senator, former Court of Appeals Judge

Libertarian Candidate:

• Bill Gelineau – Title examiner, former restaurant owner, former Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Michigan

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