Survey shows state remains politically divided
By Joey Cappelletti and Kathleen Foody
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer enters her second term with Democrats likely to control all levels of power in the state Capitol for the first time since the 1980s and backed by a dramatic show of voters’ support for keystone Democratic issues including abortion and voting rights.
But even as state Democrats celebrated their sweep of state offices and apparent majorities in the Legislature, Whitmer publicly promised to work with both parties while sprinkling in references to Democrats’ priorities.
“For the next four years, I ask you to believe in Michigan. To work with us and believe in our state. If we do, I know there is nothing we can’t accomplish,” Whitmer said Wednesday morning in Detroit. “I won’t make any predictions for the next four years but I can promise you this: we will make Michigan a place where you can envision your future.”
Republican challenger Tudor Dixon said in a statement that she had called Whitmer to concede the battleground state’s governor race. Dixon, a former political commentator endorsed by former President Donald Trump, struggled until late in the campaign to compete with Whitmer’s multimillion-dollar campaign fund.
Whitmer was first elected in 2018 after years in the Legislature and has become a leading voice in the Democratic Party, delivering the party’s response to Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020 and becoming a frequent target of his criticism over her COVID-19 regulations.
Michigan voters were slightly more likely to approve than disapprove of Whitmer’s performance, with just over half saying the Democratic governor was handling her job well, according to AP Vote Cast, a survey of more than 3,200 voters across the state.
About a third of voters said they strongly approved of Whitmer’s performance. Just as many said they strongly disapproved.
There were other signs of sharp divisions in opinion about the governor. About half of Michigan voters said they worried that her views were too extreme. A roughly equal proportion said her views were not too extreme.
Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel all defeated Trump-backed challengers.
Nessel won reelection against GOP candidate Matthew DePerno, who is under criminal investigation for allegedly tampering with election machines. Benson defeated Republican nominee Kristina Karamo, who is a former community college instructor.
Nessel, a former prosecutor-turned-civil rights lawyer, was best known for her successful fight to overturn Michigan’s ban on gay marriage when she first ran in 2018. She became the first Democrat to hold the office since 2002.
She had campaigned, like other Democrats in the state, on her opposition to Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban that was triggered when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade earlier this year.
“Ultimately, Michigan values propelled us to victory,” Nessel tweeted on Wednesday. “Love over Hate. Hope over Fear. Unity over Division. Equality over Bigotry. Science over Ignorance. Facts over Lies. Democracy over Fascism. Equal protection under the law, for each and every Michigander.”
DePerno rose to prominence in the party by echoing false claims of a stolen election in the state and leading an unsuccessful lawsuit pushing for a forensic audit of the 2020 election in northern Michigan. He is under investigation for allegedly seizing and tampering with voting machines by a special prosecutor, who said Friday that no decision would be made before Election Day. Nessel’s office has called DePerno one of the “prime instigators of the conspiracy.”
DePerno has slammed the probe, calling it “political prosecution” and saying that anything he did was lawful. He issued a statement Wednesday, conceding the race.
“Although we didn’t emerge victorious tonight, I believe we sent a strong message to Lansing,” DePerno said. “The people of Michigan are tired of the rising crime, threats to parental rights and an ongoing lack of trust in government.”
Benson was challenged by Karamo, who also received an early endorsement from Trump after claiming she witnessed election fraud in 2020 as a poll challenger in Detroit.
Addressing a crowd of supporters in Detroit after declaring victory, Benson said she was honored to be reelected for another four years.
“Tonight, democracy won here in Michigan because of all of you. You all showed the world that Michigan voters will vote for truth over lies,” Benson said.
It had been 24 years since a Democrat was Michigan’s secretary of state when Benson won in 2018. She has since tried to expand voting rights in the state, including a push to boost absentee voting in fall 2020 voting amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Her campaign this year has said she will continue to push for expanded voter rights after she oversaw “the safest, most secure” election in Michigan history.
Democrats also declared that they had won majorities in the state House and Senate, the first time since 1983 both the Legislature and governor will be led by Democrats.
Republican legislative leaders conceded the loss of their majorities. The Associated Press had not called some of those legislative races by Wednesday.
The state’s U.S. House delegation is expected to remain balanced among Republicans and Democrats.
But Whitmer’s calls for bipartisanship and unity Wednesday reflect the reality that she still leads a divided state following Democrats’ victories.
She pledged that she would be a governor “for all of Michigan” and that she would work “with anyone that wants to get things done.”
While Michigan has been slow to bounce back from some of the country’s strictest COVID policies, Whitmer has said priorities in her second term include bringing auto jobs back to the state and helping small businesses recover.
The race was among the most contested gubernatorial campaigns of the midterms, and Whitmer spent millions on ads attacking Dixon for being too “extreme” on abortion. Dixon has said she opposes abortion in all cases except to save a mother’s life. The strategy went unanswered for months as Dixon struggled to fundraise.
Whitmer also threw her support behind a Michigan ballot measure seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and overrule a 1931 law that was triggered after the fall of Roe v. Wade that would criminalize abortion. Michigan Democrats hoped the proposal would lead to high voter turnout statewide and give the party key victories in U.S. House and state legislative races.
While seemingly one-sided for months, a surge in funding from national Republicans and primetime debate performances helped increase Dixon’s name recognition in a state that had a GOP governor just four years ago.
The economy was the top issue on the minds of Michigan voters, with about half saying it is the most pressing matter facing the nation, according to AP VoteCast.
Nearly all the state’s voters said rising prices for gas, groceries and other goods were a factor in how they voted, with half naming it as the single most important factor. And among the voters who said inflation was an issue in how they cast ballots, roughly half named rising food and grocery prices as the most important factor.
About a third of Michigan voters said that their family is falling behind financially. Those voters were more likely to cast a ballot for Dixon.
The outcome of the November race is significant beyond Michigan, a presidential election battleground. The winner will be in office for the 2024 contest, and could influence voting laws and how the election is conducted.
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