MichMash: Live from Lansing

Bitely Communications Founder Andrea Bitely and Josh Hovey, partner at Martin Waymire, joined the “MichMash” gang live from Urban Beat to discuss the last few weeks of the 2024 election.

WDET and Gongwer News Service hosted a special live edition of “MichMash” on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, at Urban Beat in Lansing.

WDET and Gongwer News Service hosted a special live edition of “MichMash” on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, at Urban Beat in Lansing.

As the election season comes to an end, both Democrats and Republicans are ramping up their messaging to reach out to voters. In a special LIVE edition of our weekly series, MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discussed these matters at Urban Beat in Lansing. They sat down with Andrea Bitely, founder of Bitely Communications, and Josh Hovey, partner at Martin Waymire, to discuss the strategy from both parties. The event was also part of WDET’s Smart Politics series.

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In this episode:

  • Political messaging in the last month before the general election
  • Republican and Democratic strategies for voter outreach
  • Which way voters are leaning coming Election Day

Bitely shared how she has personally been getting inundated with waves of messaging from both sides on the hot topics that take over the national headlines, like the topic of abortion. She expressed her fatigue over the amount of messaging about how the election would affect abortion rights.

“To be frank, I want to know more about what these candidates are saying. I have a uterus and she is lovely but I also have a brain and a pocketbook and I drive a car on our roads. I want to know what else the candidates have to say about the world around us.” Bitely said. 

Hovey explained how that type of political messaging is aimed at trying to sway voters — especially those that are still undecided.

“It is about segmenting that small portion of the electorate that can be motivated. This year margins are expected to be razor thin,” said Hovey. “Every little bit has to count and has to be well targeted.”

The general election is taking place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. For the latest election information, visit WDET’s Voter Guide at wdet.org/voterguide.

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Author

  • WDET reporter and producer Hernz Laguerre Jr.
    Hernz Laguerre Jr. is a Multimedia Journalist at 101.9 WDET. He is one of the co-host for "Detroit Evening Report," one of the weekend anchors for "Weekend Edition," the producer for our political podcast, "MichMash," and reports on arts, culture and politics.