The Michigan gubernatorial candidates are ramping up their campaigns, but how are they doing financially?
This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow go over the latest campaign finance reports for the upcoming election.
These are the last reports we will see until we get closer to the primaries. Roth said the reports can be a forecast for the race ahead. “Money does not equal victory, but it does help you get there. It’s crucial for name recognition and getting your message out through things like mailers and television ads.”
The Michigan primary is on Aug. 4, 2026.
Later in the episode, Sen. Jonathan Lindsey stopped by to champion his bipartisan legislation that addresses medical debt in Michigan. The bill would make violations of these changes eligible for action by the attorney general under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. Lindsey said he believes the bill is close to being passed.
“I think we showed in the Senate that the most productive way to get it done was running together a couple of these health care-related bills that would bring enough votes from both sides to have a strong consensus on them.”
In 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump promised mass deportations. Since his election, the president has largely delivered.
In 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deported more than 620,000 people, with another 70,000 currently in custody.
Millions have taken to the streets in protest. But for places that have seen the greatest influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, protests and observation of ICE tactics is a new way of life.
Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Twin Cities have been inundated with federal agents. Residents are putting themselves between immigration officers and the people ICE is attempting to deport.
Protesters have been aggressive in letting agents know they’re not welcome. They’re following them around town, honking horns and blowing whistles. There has been no shortage of profanity.
Protests get bloody
White House Border Czar Tom Homan says those words are violence. “I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop,” says Homan. “I said in March, if the rhetoric didn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed, and there has been.”
In Minnesota, the blood that has been shed has come from U.S. citizens. Last month, federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In justifying Good’s killing, Trump Administration officials said she was armed with a car. In the moments leading up to his death, Pretti was exercising both his First and Second Amendment rights with a gun on his hip and a phone in his hand.
“Being a protester? That’s not justification to kill somebody,” Dulan said. “Filming the police? Not justification to kill somebody. Being armed? Certainly not justification to kill somebody.”
At Second Amendment rights demonstrations at the Michigan State Capitol Dulan has been armed – but also while doing business inside. After a series of armed protests during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Michigan Capitol Commission largely banned the possession of guns inside the Capitol building – something Dulan believes is likely unconstitutional.
Exercising two amendments at once
Dulan says he would defend the rights of people to carry firearms while protesting, though he wouldn’t put himself in a similar situation.
“Personally, I don’t think it’s responsible gun ownership, particularly when there’s a high likelihood that there could be some kind of a physical confrontation,” Dulan said. “You know, we’ve been teaching classes to gun owners for a long time at MCRGO. We teach that situational awareness is incredibly important, and the best way to solve most problems is by avoidance.”
Carrying a gun can also influence how other protesters see you.
Loren Khogali is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. She says demonstrating 2nd Amendment rights may make others hesitant to exercise their right to peaceably assemble.
“What we need right now in this country is as many people as possible to feel as comfortable possible exercising their 1st Amendment right to speech,” Khogali said.
Acting with impunity
The bigger issue to Khogali is the Trump Administration – and the armed agents enforcing his demands – attacking people with seeming impunity.
“Right now we are watching the government engage suppressing people’s right to speech, suppressing people’s right to protest in the most violent of ways,” Khogali said. “We have watched the federal government murder two people in Minnesota, and so it is extremely important that when you go to a protest, you understand exactly what your rights are based on those state laws.”
Loren Khogali – Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan
“Law enforcement should be adhering to the Constitution and should be protecting the right of protesters to protest within the law,”Khogali said.
In Minnesota, federal law enforcement has been largely unconcerned with the rights of protesters. Numerous judges have cited ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for violating court orders.
He says those who violate constitutional rights should face consequences, but that’s not the reality.
“Well as a practical matter, very little,” Winter said. “In a theoretical matter, they should both be open to potential civil and criminal liability.”
But asked if he thinks the agents who killed Good and Pretti will face justice… “I think it’d be very unlikely,” Winter said.
Winter says U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of what can negate qualified immunity. “It’s only a violation–it’s only actionable–if it was clearly illegal, clearly unconstitutional. So that’s easy to muddy up, right?”
Knowing your rights regardless
Even if it’s unlikely you will receive justice if your rights are violated, it’s still best to know your rights and have a plan.
“You always have the right to remain silent and to ask to speak to an attorney. You also have the right to walk away from the police calmly,” Khogali said. “If an officer demands that you should turn over your phone, you should refuse and you should tell them that you would like to speak with an attorney.”
However, witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti say their phones were confiscated anyway. Other witnesses were taken into custody.
Khogali recommends having emergency contact numbers memorized and to let loved ones know when you’re headed to a protest.
Steve Dulan says the on-going protests can serve as a teaching tool. “I am hopeful that people will take this opportunity to learn about their rights and I’m hoping that the rhetoric cools.”
This week, Homan announced that 700 ICE agents were being taken out of Minnesota. The protests and deportations continue.
The ACLU of Michigan has this handy pocket guide for your rights at protests, and what you should know before, during, and after ICE raids.
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Detroit has a lot of needs, including things like bus transit, policing and security, and trash pickup. Those things cost money — money that can be difficult to come up with in a city of relative poverty.
But with more people spending time in Detroit, and even moving to the city, it also has more opportunity to raise revenue.
The Citizens Research Council investigated whether a sales tax could benefit residents by generating $72 million a year. Madhu Anderson is the council’s senior research associate for local government affairs. She believes a sales tax isn’t a great idea, but offered other possible ways Detroit could raise revenue. Anderson spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Affordability. That’s the word that’s been buzzing around politics.
In November, Democrats across the country won on the promise of reducing the cost of living.
But it’s not just liberals that are embracing an “affordability agenda.” Conservatives and libertarians are latching on as well.
Jarrett Skorup is the vice president of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which appreciates the free market and criticizes government regulation.
In this conversation, The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with him about why he thinks unregulated capitalism can help free people from the burden of rising costs.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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To counter President Donald Trump’s agenda, liberals aren’t discussing democracy. They’re talking about the issue of affordability.
Last year, Congressional Democrats fought a previous budget bill on the grounds that peoples’ healthcare costs would rise if it passed. In November, Democrats ran across the country — and won — on reducing the cost of living. Last month, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a plan to make America more affordable.
But what, exactly, is an affordability agenda? And how are politicians trying to resolve the affordability crisis?
EJ Dionne is a New York Times opinion writer, a professor at Georgetown University, and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He joined Robyn Vincent to discuss.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Many have been actively engaging and organizing against federal immigration enforcement and the killings of Americans at the hands of immigration agents.
It’s been true in Minneapolis, where thousands have taken to the streets. And it’s spread from there to Detroit and many other places across the nation.
Scenes in America this past weekend harkened back to the civil rights era with people taking to the streets, students walking out of class, and businesses shutting down for a national day of protest against ICE and the Trump administration.
All these actions have us wondering: How effective have anti-ICE protests been so far? And when exactly is a protest successful?
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She’s also the author of “A Protest History of the United States.” She joined Robyn Vincent to discuss.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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There are several major races later this year, with multiple candidates competing for governor, U.S. Congress, and state House and Senate seats. This week on MichMash, Cheyna Roth and Alethia Kasben speak with Kristin Combs, founder of Bright Sparks Strategies, about how Republican candidates are performing across these contests.
The gubernatorial race saw a major shakeup when Michigan businessman Perry Johnson entered the field. Combs said his candidacy is likely to change the race’s dynamics. “The more people out there spending money, building name ID, and talking about the issues we think will matter to voters, the more attention it brings to the race,” she said.
Combs also noted that a key factor in Republican races outside of presidential election years is whether Trump supporters will turn out to vote. She said national trends and local leadership both influence turnout. “People are struggling with gas prices and grocery prices,” Combs said. “So the things Republicans can do to try and keep costs under control — that’s going to help.”
Finally, Combs’ firm is working to gather signatures for a proof-of-citizenship ballot proposal. Supporters argue the measure would protect elections from non-citizen voting, while opponents say it could prevent some eligible citizens from casting ballots.
Last week, the locality conducted its latest count while Wayne County had one on Wednesday. We don’t have the official results from either count yet, but, according to Ryan Hertz, the number of families that are homeless is growing, even as chronically homeless individuals are getting housing more often.
The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with the CEO and president of the anti-poverty organization, Lighthouse, to learn more.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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The killing of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers has forced the country to look more closely at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When applying that closer lens, that scrutiny moves beyond individual agents to the system itself. It’s one built through laws, budgets, and a long-standing decision to treat immigration as a criminal problem.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at Ohio State University, studies the once less known aspects of the U.S. system: where immigration enforcement operates like criminal policing, and detention functions like punishment even when the government calls it “civil.”
His latest book is “Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the ‘Criminal Alien.'”
García Hernández joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what kind of immigration system is actually being built in the name of Americans, and how we got here.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he is going to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota. But the protests against ICE in that state have continued as federal officers have remained on the ground.
One of the larger demonstrations in Minneapolis occurred last Friday. That’s when businesses closed and thousands of people took to the streets. It was also the day before Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents.
Interim Executive Director for The Detroit Jews for Justice Lisa Tencer was in Minneapolis on Friday. The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with her about why she went, and what she saw.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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It’s been less than a month since Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield took office, but she’s already begun putting her agenda into motion.
Her administration is creating a new Office of Neighborhood & Community Safety and establishing new departments aimed at reducing poverty. The administration has also brought Rx Kids a program that gives cash to new mothers, to the city.
Why did Sheffield’s office make these changes? And what does she hope to accomplish in her first year?
David Bowser is Mayor Sheffield’s chief of staff. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Although Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and President Donald Trump have found some areas of common ground this year, Whitmer recently outlined key disagreements at the Detroit Auto Show, including opposition to Trump’s tariff strategy and the presence of ICE in Minneapolis. This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what Whitmer’s comments could signal about future relations with the Trump administration.
Whitmer called some Trump administration actions “an abuse of power,” adding, “I think it is a very serious and scary moment in this country. I appreciate those who are raising their voices. I worry about the people out there just trying to do the right thing.”
Roth said Whitmer’s remarks could hint at political ambitions after her term as governor ends. She also noted that much of Whitmer’s outreach to the Trump administration has focused on maintaining cooperation in Michigan’s best interest.
Later in the episode, Oakland Schools Superintendent Kenneth Gutman discusses proposed legislation that would ban cell phones in classrooms. Gutman supports the measure, saying it benefits students. “There are exceptions, and safety is one of them, but in general, do we need cell phones in classrooms? We do not. They are a distraction.”
If the legislation passes, Michigan would join states including Indiana, Louisiana, New York, and Ohio in banning cell phones in classrooms.
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Who wrote the Federalist Papers? What power does the president have? Name one right only U.S. citizens possess.
Those are real questions from the U.S. citizenship civics test. The test now draws from 128 possible questions. It asks up to 20 on the spot. Individuals must answer at least 12 correctly to pass.
Many native-born Americans would struggle with questions like these.
As immigration enforcement intensifies in the United States and federal authorities expand arrests and deportation efforts, the question of what it means to be an American is being thrust into public view.
That is because citizenship isn’t just something written on a test. It is a lived experience, felt in neighborhoods, courtrooms, and in the center of our political conversation.
To unpack what it means to be an American, and how that’s changed over time, The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent spoke with Marc Kruman. He’s a retired professor of history at Wayne State University and the founding director of its Center for the Study of Citizenship
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Every fall, college campuses come alive with small rituals: new students finding their way, roommates negotiating shared space, classrooms filling with questions and ideas.
But this year, something is missing.
International students—once a steady presence—are arriving in far smaller numbers. At the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the change is felt in classrooms, group projects, and everyday conversations that no longer happen.
Behind the absence are visa delays, shifting federal rules, and a broader signal. The Trump administration is advancing a more nationalist, transactional approach to foreign policy, and the U.S. is increasingly seen abroad as unpredictable. For students deciding where to study, that uncertainty matters.
Gabriella Scarlatta, interim chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and a former international student herself, says what’s happening on campus reflects something larger about how welcome America feels right now. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to explain what Michigan risks losing.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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In the Republican-controlled House, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill banning cell phones in charter and public schools with strong bipartisan support. Now it’s headed to the Michigan Senate, where Democrats hold the majority.
Many school districts in the state already have phone bans and restrictions. But this recent vote in the state House was significant. A similar bill didn’t pass the same chamber last summer. Inaction was a theme last legislative session as lawmakers in Lansing passed the fewest number of bills on record.
What changed? And, what other bills might the legislature be able to pass along bipartisan lines this session?
State Rep. Mark Tisdel.
Mark Tisdel is a Republican representing Rochester Hills and the sponsor of the cell phone ban bill. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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House Republican have moved to unilaterally cut up to $645 million from the state budget. But is that legal? This week on MichMash, Cheyna Roth and Zach Gorchow talk with Bob Schneider of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan to make sense of it all. Plus a look at changes in the race for governor and Secretary of State.
In this episode:
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist drops out of the race for governor and into the Secretary of State’s race
The state of the governor’s race
The battle over unilateral budget cuts
Overview
Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist has ended his campaign for governor and has launched an effort to become Michigan’s next Secretary of State instead. Gongwer’s Zach Gorchow says Gilchrist’s decision shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“He had low name recognition and wasn’t raising anywhere near enough money. Jocelyn Benson, the secretary of state, has been the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for months, and Gilchrist’s exit doesn’t change anything on the Democratic side.”
The news does have implications for the race for Secretary of State as Gilchrist joins an already crowded Democratic field.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are dealing with a provision in state law that allows a single legislative committee to cancel certain types of spending. House Republicans used this mechanism like never before – to cancel up to $645 million in spending.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed suit saying the legislation allowing the move is unconstitutional.
Bob Schneider of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan tells us the central issue is around the appropriation process for “work projects.”
“A work project is an authorization to carry forward appropriations into a future fiscal year.”
He says the legislature should be thinking ahead on the issue, because the process could be in jeopardy, depending on how courts rule. Schneieder says lawmaker should be saying to themselves, “How do we get together and fix this so we have a process that works in the future.”
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Is it time to rewrite Michigan’s constitution? Voters will answer that question in 2026.
A ballot proposal asks whether state residents want to call a constitutional convention. The last one happened in 1961. Voters approved a new constitution in 1962.
By law, the issue must appear on the ballot every 16 years. Voters rejected convention calls in 1978, 1994, and 2010.
Justin Long is an associate professor at Wayne State University’s School of Law. He’s an expert on state constitutions, including Michigan’s. He says the 16-year cycle gives voters time to think about how state government works and whether to change it.
“The thought was if there’s something seriously wrong with the structure of state government, it’ll take us a few years to figure it out,” he says. We’ll give it a try for a few years, and by 16 years, it’s time to decide whether it’s working or not.”
What does it say?
Proposal 1 will appear on the November 2026 ballot as follows:
A PROPOSAL TO CONVENE A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DRAFTING A GENERAL REVISION OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION
Shall a convention of elected delegates be convened in 2027 to draft a general revision of the State Constitution for presentation to the state’s voters for their approval or rejection?
Voters can either say “yes” or “no.”
It’s not a popular question
So why haven’t voters felt the need to call for a new convention in over 60 years? Long says caution may be one reason.
“I think neither political party [Democratic or Republican] feels assured that they’ll be able to control the convention, because delegates are elected directly by the people,” he says. “And the delegates would presumably know that if they did anything too wild, the voters wouldn’t pass it.”
Justin Long is an associate law professor at Wayne State University.
That said, delegates could either tweak parts of the constitution or rewrite the entire document. For example, Long says they could decide which offices get elected and which ones don’t.
“They could decide whether we want to have two houses of the Legislature or just one,” he says. “They’re basically unfettered at that point.”
If voters do call for a constitutional convention, another election would take place within six months. Long says that’s when voters would choose delegates.
“There’d be one delegate elected from every House district and one from every Senate district,” he says. “They would then hire staff, and then they would meet and debate.”
Long says once the delegates have drafted a new constitution, they submit it to the voters.
“And that vote would be by a simple majority,” he says.
If voters say no to a constitutional convention this year, it wouldn’t come up again until 2042.
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But at the local level, despite weak participation, officials say democracy is strong, that the trash is getting picked up on time, and that services are being properly distributed, especially in more urban areas.
That’s what Stephanie Leiser found in a recent survey of Michigan municipal leaders. She’s the Director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, and a lecturer at University of Michigan. The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with Leiser to learn more.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Recent numbers suggest that homicides fell well below 200 last year. That was the first time that happened in six decades.
There are a number of things that are given credit for the decline. Community violence interventionists who are preventing harm, and police officers that focus on de-escalation and complete their homicide investigations. It can also be attributed to increased surveillance with things like Project Green Light.
Now, Mayor Mary Sheffield is creating an Office of Neighborhood & Community Safety, which will focus on mental health issues, after-school programs and resident access to jobs to further increase safety.
What exactly will the office do? And why is a holistic approach needed to increase resident safety?
Shantay Jackson is the Director of the National Offices of Violence Prevention Network at the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which will help establish Detroit’s office. She spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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