Michigan Gains National Attention On Last Day Before Election
Journalists Tim Alberta and Rick Pluta join Detroit Today to talk national and local races.
We’ve had many visits to Michigan from the campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — including the candidates themselves — over the past few days.
Both campaigns are acting as if Michigan as a must-win state that is “in play”. That’s curious, since Michigan has elected a Democrat for president in every election since 1988, and Trump has never led major polls in the state this year.
But Michigan is home to the so-called “Reagan Democrat” — a different kind of working-class voter.
Is Donald Trump the type of Republican who could make Michigan a swing state once again?
National Review Chief Political Correspondent Tim Alberta joins Detroit Today from the campaign trail to talk about Michigan’s importance in the election.
Alberta says Michigan is “certainly a long shot” for Trump to win. But he says “a perfect storm” in Trump’s favor could help swing the state from blue to red.
“We could be in for some huge surprise,” he says. “I just think (Trump winning Michigan) is very unlikely.”
While it’s exciting to see so much national attention on Michigan with both presidential campaigns spending serious time and money here in the last day before the election, let’s not forget that there are some very important local races on the ballot as well.
We have some very close congressional races that could decide the balance of power in the House next year. Democrats hope to take control of the state House. And we’ll elect justices on Michigan’s Supreme Court.
Rick Pluta, state Capitol bureau chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network, also joins Detroit Today to break down those races.
To hear the full conversation, click on the audio player above.
