Zoe Clark
Political Director & It's Just Politics hostZoe Clark is Michigan Public's Political Director. In this role, Clark guides coverage of the state Capitol, elections, and policy debates. Her passion for understanding and explaining politics led Michigan Public to create the position in 2022 for the first time in station history.
Clark is also the host of It's Just Politics, a weekly look at Michigan politics, with Michigan Public Radio Network's Senior Capitol Correspondent Rick Pluta. Together, they co-author the It's Just Politics Newsletter.
Clark regularly appears on WKAR’s Off the Record, WDIV’s Flashpoint and offers political analysis on NPR, PBS, CNN, and the BBC.
Clark is an award-winning journalist, including the prestigious Peabody for overseeing the station’s first nationally distributed podcast Believed.
Clark previously was the station’s Program Director and is the founder and former Executive Producer of Stateside. She began at the station by producing Jack Lessenberry’s daily interviews and essays, and producing Michigan Radio’s Morning Edition.
Clark began her collegiate studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She holds degrees in Communication Studies and Political Science from the University of Michigan and lives in Ann Arbor, where she was born and raised.
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After a Republican subpoena, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson files a legal brief in the Michigan Court of Claims arguing she is a political target. Plus, Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin offers a centrist remedy for Democrats’ doldrums and the latest on state budget negotiations. -
There’s a lot of anticipation, waiting and, maybe, negotiating at the state Capitol as the Republican-led House and the Democratic-controlled Senate go down to the wire in budget negotiations with a statutory deadline of July 1st. The latest from Lansing as the budget deadlines looms. -
The July 1st deadline for the Legislature to send a finalized budget to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk is approaching and the House and the Senate don’t appear to be close. Plus, a new referendum effort could have you voting on the state’s minimum wage and a potential Democratic challenger in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District wants to take on Republican Congressman Tom Barrett. -
Tom Leonard, former Speaker of the Michigan House, is the latest Republican to jump into Michigan’s open gubernatorial race. He joins It’s Just Politics this week. Plus, Stephen Henderson and Nolan Finley discuss their new book focusing on civility. -
The state House met into the night on Thursday as Republicans voted on their higher education budget. We know it is a non-starter in the Democratic-controlled Senate. A look at what happens next in Lansing before a looming July 1st budget deadline. -
Concerns are mounting in Lansing over whether a state budget will get done by a July 1st statutory deadline. On this week’s It’s Just Politics, a frank and honest conversation with four bipartisan lawmakers about what is - or isn’t happening - at the state Capitol. -
Michigan House Republicans and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are headed to court in a fight over access to election-related materials and legislative oversight. The House GOP majority filed a lawsuit seeking an order for the Democratic Secretary of State to fully comply with a legislative subpoena. Plus, blowing past a July 1st state budget deadline. -
The DeVos political machine is back after announcing that they are publicly reengaging in Michigan politics. On this week’s It’s Just Politics: what to expect from the DeVos family ahead of Election 2026. -
Fighting state legislative leaders, calls for civility, and economic uncertainty: The Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual Mackinac Policy Conference is in the books. -
As more than 1,500 business leaders, lawmakers, lobbyists and philanthropists meet on Mackinac Island for the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, new election 2026 polling is released.
