Michigan's Midterms Could Determine Direction Of National Politics
David Guenthner
6–8 minutes
Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement announcement last month further solidifies Michigan as the most important state in the country, at least politically, for the next two years.
Michigan has long been a swing state, not just federally but internally. Historically, the state’s political pendulum has swung at 8-year intervals. The 2010 swing gave Republicans full control over state government, highlighted by the passage of right-to-work, the stabilization of Michigan’s population after several decades of decline, and 600,000 new jobs.
The 2018 swing gave the state Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the nation’s most comprehensive COVID business shutdowns, and an “independent” redistricting commission. Under the commission’s legislative boundaries, later found by the courts to have been racially gerrymandered, Democrats won narrow legislative majorities in 2022 that repealed right-to-work, incinerated education accountability, and enacted a weather-dependent “net-zero” energy regime.
Michigan’s role in national politics is not merely to serve as a bellwether for presidential elections. Unions in the state have long been among America’s most powerful; money harvested from Michigan’s workers is regularly deployed beyond our borders. And with Michigan’s accessible ballot initiative process, terrible left-wing policies can be tested and passed here before being inflicted on redder states like Arizona and Montana. Rewiring Michigan in a direction that advances conservatism and federalism benefits America broadly.
Here is the Michigan ballot in 2026:
more
https://thefederalist.com/2025/02/04/michigans-next-elections-could-determine-the-direction-of-national-politics/
