It's Just Politics

A proposal to delay paychecks for future governors and legislators if the state budget is not wrapped up by the July 1 legal deadline failed Thursday in the state House. Plus, Detroit Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan has a good week.

A live, onstage conversation with Pete Buttigieg, former South Bend mayor, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and current Michigan resident. The former Democratic presidential candidate discusses the deep divisions in American society, the future of the Democratic Party, and the enormous - and not necessarily comprehensible - impact of artificial intelligence. Plus, his political future.

We are into week six of seemingly stalled budget negotiations in Lansing. Six weeks since K-12 schools, higher ed and some local governments started their fiscal years without knowing how much state money they’ll receive. Just what’s going on at the state Capitol?

Detroit voters chose City Council President Mary Sheffield and Pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr. to move forward to November’s general election in the race to become the city’s next mayor. Plus, a majority of local Michigan officials think the state is on the wrong track.

Eye-raising fundraising numbers are released in Michigan’s 2026 race for governor. Plus, President Trump puts his thumb on Michigan’s political scale in the GOP primary race for U.S. Senate.

The principal negotiators in the Republican led-House and the Democrat-controlled Senate all seem resigned to the fact that it’s going to take more time before there’s a budget deal in Lansing. Plus, President Trump endorses in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race and Jocelyn Benson and Mike Duggan announce huge fundraising totals.

Three weeks since the July 1st statutory deadline and there is still no budget deal in Lansing. A Democrat and Republican lawmaker who are part of budget negotiations at the state Capitol describe where things stand: “the span between our budgets right now is about as big as the Mackinac Bridge.”

The Detroit Regional Chamber endorsed Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in his run for governor as an Independent candidate in 2026. Why so early in the race? Plus, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is asking a judge to shield documents seized in a raid on its offices from an investigation by Attorney General Dana Nessel.

An open U.S. Senate seat, legislative inaction and the Whitmer/Trump relationship: The It’s Just Politics team takes stock of the first six months of 2025 with a look at the top three Michigan politics stories of the year so far.

As legal and political drama unfolds surrounding the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, questions remain about who will be held accountable for mishandling of taxpayer dollars and whether Michigan’s business incentives program will face changes moving forward.