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Michigan is set to play a pivotal role in the 2026 midterm elections. Races for the U.S. Senate seat and several U.S. House districts could tip the balance of control in Washington, D.C., while all statewide offices are also up for election, including the governorship.
Before eyes shift to the general election, Michigan’s primary will be held Tuesday, Aug. 4, with close races in the U.S. Democratic Senate primary, the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary and various U.S. House races across the state.
Key issues remain top of mind for many voters including, but not limited to, gas prices and economic issues, foreign policy, immigration and trust in democracy. Here in Michigan, there is a specific focus on data centers, K-12 education, population and healthcare.
Experts at Michigan State University have been following many of these races and issues. They are available to comment on the following topics:
Corwin Smidt is an associate professor of American politics in the Department of Political Science at the College of Social Science. He can comment on both federal elections and statewide elections, and he leads many polling and voter survey efforts.
Contact: smidtc@msu.edu
“Although the 2026 midterms in Michigan are very important for deciding control of state government, past elections suggest voter opinions about state government will matter little. Survey trends show presidential approval and economic sentiment in the state matter most, and right now polls suggest Michigan voters view President Trump’s performance and his economy in 2026 just as badly as President Biden and his economy in 2024. Despite these conditions, Michigan remains a purple state with a growing percentage of independents in recent years. And Republicans could win some statewide seats if Democrats fail to unify after some intense August primary contests.”
Matt Grossmann is the director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and a professor in the Department of Political Science at the College of Social Science. He is an expert on a broad range of topics and campaigns surrounding the 2026 election, including both Michigan and national races and trends.
Contact: grossm63@msu.edu
“Michigan’s swing House and Senate seats will be critical for Democrats’ chances to retake power in Congress. With the governor’s office and legislative control also up for grabs, they also have a chance to take full power in Lansing. But first they have to nominate candidates who can win over Biden-Trump voters. Conflict between a distrusted establishment and a rising left insurgency could spoil the plans.”
Marty Jordan is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and director of the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. His academic work focuses on policy processes and public administration across U.S. states and localities. He can comment on statewide and local elections as well as federal and state policy issues.
Contact: jordan61@msu.edu.
“All voting blocs are consequential, but an increasingly decisive one is the youth vote (ages 18-29). Midterm elections typically see lower participation, yet young voters have significantly increased their civic engagement in recent cycles, reaching roughly 35% turnout in 2018 and 31% in 2022. As we look toward the 2026 midterms in Michigan, a key question is whether this demographic will sustain that momentum and, crucially, which party will secure young voters' support. While younger voters have historically leaned Democratic, the 2024 election cycle signaled a shift. Support for the Democratic ticket notably softened on college campuses across Michigan, including at MSU and U-M, driven by frustrations over economic conditions, high inflation, and the U.S. government’s involvement in the Israel-Hamas war. Whether Generation Z voters remain a reliable Democratic constituency or continue to shift toward new political alignments will be a defining factor in 2026. These voters are grappling with a distinct set of priorities, ranging from the cost of living and housing affordability to the implications of generative AI on the labor market. And many young people are signaling a demand for leadership that moves beyond traditional party orthodoxies.
“Survey respondents are voicing deep-seated concerns over the rising cost of living, the impact of ongoing tariffs on consumer goods, and labor market instability, all set against the backdrop of a prolonged conflict with Iran and heightened anxiety over immigration enforcement. The Trump administration has sought to pivot the narrative toward the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and symbolic politics like the nation’s 250th anniversary. However, it remains unclear whether these communication efforts are gaining traction. Much like the previous administration, the current White House faces an electorate that has grown increasingly impatient, showing little willingness to grant the ‘trial and error’ period that new policy initiatives require to take effect. As we approach November, the central question is whether the 2026 midterms will mirror the 2018 ‘blue wave’ that saw sizable losses for the incumbent party, or the 2022 cycle, where opposition to the repeal of Roe v. Wade blunted those traditional headwinds. Current polling and macroeconomic indicators suggest we are trending toward the former.”
Dante Chinni is a research specialist at the School of Journalism and director of the American Communities Project at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. He can comment on both the 2026 midterm elections, as well as voter sentiment and patterns across both Michigan and the country.
Contact: chinni@msu.edu
“The American Communities Project tries to understand what voters living in different kinds of communities are feeling and why. Eight of the project’s 15 community types are represented in Michigan. We are going to be looking at how those different voters are responding to the candidates and issues of the 2026 campaign. Ultimately, the winners and losers in November will be determined by the margins of victory in a set of key counties around the state. Not just Wayne and the Detroit metro area, but smaller counties in the center, west and north of Michigan.”
Michigan races
Eric Juenke is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and is a faculty member of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program at the College of Social Science. He can comment on Latinx politics, electoral institutions and minority political representation, including for races in Michigan.
Contact: juenke@msu.edu
“Get ready to see some political ads this fall. Michigan will once again be in the national spotlight for control of Congress. Not only will our Senate race be competitive and influential for control of the Senate, but our local House district race, featuring incumbent Tom Barrett (R) and a group of Democratic challengers will also be key to which party controls the House. Because we already know the Republican candidates —Mike Rogers is the likely GOP Senate nominee — I’ll be watching the Democratic primary elections in August. These races reflect the national storyline for Democrats, with establishment candidates like Haley Stevens taking on progressive challengers like Abdul El-Sayed for the Senate seat.
Michigan’s 7th Congressional District
“In MSU’s House District 7, the progressive candidate is William Lawrence, and the establishment candidates are Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam. After the primaries, I’ll be watching closely to see if Democrats are able to rally around candidates that are not preferred by many in their own party. Will the GOP survive a backlash midterm year with an unpopular incumbent president because the Democrats are too divided? Or will none of this matter in Michigan because the midterm wave is going to be too large for the GOP to overcome? This is the national story of the midterms, with so much riding on control of Congress for the next two years. We will have a front row seat here in Michigan with the nation’s eyes glued to our results in November.”
Jeremy Orr is an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University College of Law and an attorney specializing in environmental and civil rights law. He can comment on Michigan’s elections with regard to environmental policy.
Contact: orrjerem@msu.edu
AG race: Data centers and consumer protection
“The 2026 attorney general race in Michigan is going to involve much bigger conversations about legal accountability, consumer protection and who is actually looking out for the public as energy demand and infrastructure rapidly change. As data centers expand and put more pressure on the electric grid, people are going to ask hard questions about utility bills, reliability, environmental impacts and whether residents are being left to absorb the costs while large corporations benefit. These are no longer just technology or economic development conversations. They are public interest and governance issues.
“There is also a real democracy and process issue here. Communities deserve transparency and a meaningful seat at the table when major energy and infrastructure decisions are being made, especially when those decisions could impact rates, water use, land use and environmental conditions for decades. The attorney general’s office will increasingly be viewed as an important accountability institution, responsible for enforcing consumer protections, ensuring proper legal process, and making sure powerful interests cannot move forward without meaningful public participation and oversight. As climate and technology issues continue to intersect, those accountability questions are only going to grow.”
Governor race: Flooding and climate infrastructure policy
“The 2026 governor’s race is also going to be shaped by the reality that climate change is no longer an abstract issue for Michigan communities. People are experiencing it directly through flooding, stronger storms, failing infrastructure, power outages, and the growing strain on systems that were never built for this level of extreme weather. Across the state, residents are seeing flooded basements, overwhelmed drainage systems, damaged roads and aging water infrastructure struggling to keep up. What used to be talked about mostly as a global climate issue is now showing up as a very local governance and quality of life issue.
“That means the next governor is going to face increasing pressure to prioritize climate resilience and infrastructure modernization as core parts of governing. This is about more than environmental policy. It is about housing, public health, affordability, emergency preparedness, and whether communities actually have infrastructure that can safely support them in the years ahead. Michigan has an opportunity to lead with a people-centered approach to climate resilience, but doing that will require long-term investment, coordination and a willingness to treat these issues with the urgency they now demand.”
16-year constitutional convention vote and ballot proposals
Quinn Yeargain, 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy, who is also an associate professor at the Michigan State University College of Law, can provide insights on the topic of constitutional conventions, which occur every 16 years in Michigan — and it happens to be on the 2026 ballot.
Contact: yeargain@msu.edu
“The first Michigan Constitution, which was drafted in 1835, allowed the legislature to call a constitutional convention if voters agreed to do so. When the constitution was rewritten in 1850, delegates added in the current provision, which requires that the question of whether to hold a convention be put to voters every 16 years. The delegates debated what the appropriate amount of time was — the original draft of the constitution proposed an election every 15 years, and some delegates wanted to have an election every 10 years — and ultimately settled on 16. The provision endured in the 1908 and 1963 constitutions.
“Surveys have shown that only a bare majority of voters are aware that their state has a constitution, and voters don’t have a lot of knowledge about what their constitution contains. As a result, it’s understandable that they don’t have very strong feelings about documents that they don’t know very much about. Though state constitutions have increased in salience in the last decade — and especially in the last five years — they’re still not something that most voters are familiar with. And the prospect of authorizing politicians to totally rewrite the state’s governing document, with no guarantee of what would stay from the current constitution, might be a frightening prospect. We’ll see how voters feel, but the Michigan Constitution has held up really well — and has proven adaptable in changing times.”
Read more on MSUToday.
Erik Nordman is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he also directs the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University. He can discuss the Michigan Utility and Government Contractor Campaign Finance Regulations Initiative should it get approval for the November ballot.
Contact: nordman7@msu.edu
“Michigan’s electric and gas utilities are allowed to have a near-monopoly on the sale of their services within their defined territories. In return, they agree to have their prices and service quality regulated by the Michigan Public Service Commission. They must also follow statutes set by the Michigan legislature. Should the utilities be able to contribute to the political campaigns of legislator and the governor, who appoints the public service commissioners? That is the question being put to Michigan voters in a ballot proposal this year. Specifically, the ballot initiative would prohibit the regulated utilities from contributing money to the political campaigns of state officeholders and political party committees. It also would prohibit companies that have large contracts ($250,000) or more from contributing to political campaigns of candidates for state or local offices in the jurisdiction in which they work. The bill’s proponents are concerned about the utilities ‘capturing’ their regulators with campaign funds. Opponents of the ballot initiative say such restrictions are unconstitutional limitations on free speech. The state canvassers will meet on July 24, 2026, to determine the petition’s sufficiency and the ballot’s 100-word summary.”
Jeremy Orr is an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University College of Law and an attorney specializing in environmental and civil rights law. He can also comment on the Michigan Utility and Government Contractor Campaign Finance Regulations Initiative should it get approval for the November ballot.
Contact: orrjerem@msu.edu
"Michigan families deserve an energy system that works for them, not one where monopoly utilities can use their immense financial power to influence the very elected officials responsible for holding them accountable. Our utilities are government-granted monopolies, and with that privilege should come even greater responsibility to make sure our grid is clean, safe, and affordable.
"At a time when Michigan is making critical decisions about energy affordability, grid reliability, and the transition to clean energy, the public needs to know those decisions are being made in the public interest not for their bottom line. On the surface, the MOP UP Michigan ballot initiative is about getting monopoly money out of our politics and restoring trust in our state government. But, if successful, our political system will be much better positioned to regulate utilities, lower the cost of healthcare, and tackle some of our state’s toughest challenges."
Education and reading
Madeline Mavrogordato is the director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, or EPIC, at the College of Education, where she is also a professor in the Department of Educational Administration. She can discuss the importance of reading and literacy along with the associated challenges learners face.
Contact: mavro@msu.edu
“Michigan voters have watched our state’s literacy performance steadily decline over the past two decades. In 2002, only 13 states had fourth grade reading proficiency rates that were statistically higher than Michigan’s; today, that number has grown to 31. The leaders and policymakers Michigan voters elect this November will determine whether that trend continues or begins to reverse. Strong literacy outcomes are the foundation for student success, a competitive workforce and thriving communities, making literacy one of the most consequential issues facing our state and a key issue for Michigan voters this election.”
Jason Burns is a research specialist with the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, or EPIC, at the College of Education, where his focus is supporting EPIC’s portfolio of research on Michigan’s teacher workforce. He can discuss the importance of education and its funding.
Contact: burnsja6@msu.edu
“Our public opinion research shows that K-12 education funding is a significant priority for Michigan residents. Among the major areas of state spending we examined, including roads and bridges and healthcare, more Michiganders favored increasing funding for K-12 education than for any other area. That preference aligns with a large and growing body of research showing that school funding matters for student outcomes. Together, the evidence suggests that education funding is important to Michiganders and has meaningful consequences for students and schools.”
Data centers
Erik Nordman is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he also directs the Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University. He can discuss the issue of data centers, including in Michigan communities.
Contact: nordman7@msu.edu
“Data centers remain a concern in communities across Michigan. At the state level, Michigan has a tax incentive to encourage companies like Google and OpenAI to build their hyperscale data centers here. The tax incentive does come with strings attached: the data center owners must create at least 30 well-paying jobs, construct the facility using green building standards, use municipal water, and obtain 90% of their electricity from clean sources within six years of operation. Despite these requirements, many local governments have questions about how the data centers' enormous appetite for electricity could affect utility rates, how they might affect property taxes and land values, and how they might disrupt the community with noise, lights, and air pollution. Several communities have passed moratoria on new data center developments as they explore ways to protect their residents while accommodating the new facilities. In July, Governor Whitmer issued a Michigan Affordable and Responsible Growth Action Plan for data centers. The plan encourages the legislature to pass laws that enforce the ratepayer protections already in place with the Michigan Public Service Commission. The plan also includes a voluntary commitment for data center owners to protect their host communities and support local economies.”
Read more from Nordman on MSUToday.
More data center experts are available on MSUToday.
Economy and tariffs
Antonio Doblas Madrid is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Michigan State University in the College of Social Science. He can comment on where the economy, including inflation, wages and the market, stands heading into the election.
Contact: doblasma@msu.edu
“After being a minor problem for some time, the post-COVID inflation surge quickly became, and still remains, a central issue in Michigan, as well as nationally. Five years after the onset of this inflationary episode, the economy remains stuck in the ‘last mile’ of disinflation, with the rate of price increases stubbornly hovering around 3% instead of returning to pre-COVID rates of under 2%. As prices continue to climb, a further concern is that a softening labor market is putting workers in a weaker bargaining position, making it harder for them to demand the wage raises that would be needed to keep pace and avoid losing purchasing power. Both tariffs and the war with Iran are government policies that have an inflationary impact, though their impact is felt differently. While the inflationary effect of tariffs is more opaque and difficult to trace, the link between the Iran war and rising oil prices is immediate and clear, making it a more visible factor in the upcoming election.”
David Ortega is a professor and the Noel W. Stuckman Chair in Food Economics and Policy in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he is also a faculty laureate. He can comment on issues relating to the food economy, as the price of grocery remains an issue heading into the election.
Contact: dlortega@msu.edu
“Voters are heading into these midterms having been promised that food prices would come down, and the reality is that hasn’t happened. Grocery inflation has slowed from its peak, but prices never fell. They’re still sitting on top of the increases of the past several years, and some of the staples that people buy, like beef, fresh produce and coffee, keep getting more expensive. That gap between what was promised and what shoppers actually see at the register is exactly the kind of thing that shapes how people vote. Voters judge food prices by the receipt, not the inflation rate, and the receipt tells them those promises weren’t kept.”
Read more from Ortega on MSUToday.
Jason Miller is the Eli Broad Professor in Supply Chain Management in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the Broad College of Business. He can comment on various supply chain issues and disruptions, as foreign conflict and trade are top of mind this presidential election.
Contact: mill2831@broad.msu.edu
“Supply chains today are grappling with uncertainty concerning prices due to the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East and continually evolving U.S. tariff policies. Firms in many sectors are also contending with higher prices for inputs like memory chips due to immense capital investment in the physical infrastructure supporting AI computing.”
Foreign policy
Matt Zierler is an associate professor at James Madison College where he is an expert in issues relating to foreign policy, international security and international law. He can comment on the impact of foreign policy and the election.
Contact: zierler@msu.edu
“The Trump foreign policy reflects a lot of uncertainty in current global politics. When Putin’s Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, it was a sign of aberration to the liberal international order that had been undergirding world politics since the end of World War II. Instead of rejecting those positions challenging the virtues of international law, the Trump administration seems to embrace the idea of not being fully constrained by international law and norms.
“The invasion of Venezuela to arrest Maduro could have been seen as helping to promote democracy but it seems to be based more on the Trump administration’s desire to control economic resources and ensure dominance over the Western Hemisphere. The current discussion about the fate of Greenland — while not neglecting the fact that there are international security concerns in the Arctic — seems more focused on Trump’s desire for control and status rather than continuing to work with our historic allies to ensure security and stability. There are a lot of concerns that the way in which the Trump foreign policy is done could have drastic negative long-term consequences for the United States and the world.”
More international relations experts are available on MSUToday.
Healthcare policy
Leonard Fleck is a University Distinguished Professor where he is on faculty at the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice at the College of Human Medicine and the College or Arts and Letters. He can comment on the impact of rising health care costs and public health challenges.
Contact: fleck@msu.edu
“In this election cycle (and for the next several cycles) rising health costs will be top political and economic concern. Rising costs are driven by an aging population with more chronic health conditions that require costly medical technologies. This leads to more costly hospitalization and bigger challenges for meeting the health care needs of rural populations who tend to be older, poorer and have more health needs. At the same time, increased health care costs paid by employers means decrease wages. It is expected that the number of uninsured Americans will reach 34 million in 2034. These are problems of social justice. All Americans are entitled to equal concern regarding their health care needs. We are falling far short of honoring that commitment without universal health insurance.”
We also are likely to see more public health challenges and climate-related health challenges related to the consequences of federal constraints. I expect artificial intelligence to infiltrate more diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic, predictive and preventive purposes in medicine. However, if we demand increased efforts to control health costs, then we should be mindful that effort to control costs means constraints on someone's income. This is a major political and economic problem because few citizens accept a lower standard of living.”
Misinformation and media literacy
Marisa A. Smith is an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations and the School of Journalism at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. Her research investigates information in digital environments and examines the sociopolitical influence of these messages, with an emphasis on race and identity.
Contact: smit3330@msu.edu
“Political news often contains biased content with the express purpose of activating emotional responses among audience members or swaying attitudes in a way that benefits a political candidate. News across various mediums — print, television and online — can try to target their audience members based on their identity, whether it be race, gender, partisanship, etc. Media literacy encourages audiences to be more active in how they view and understand political news. As election coverage ramps up, it is important to view news with a critical lens: Are you receiving facts about the candidates and their policies, or is the content presented in a way that provokes an immediate, strong emotional response, such as fear or threat? Media literacy helps audiences differentiate news from strategic political disinformation that aims to manipulate audiences for political or financial gain.”
Dustin Carnahan is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. He studies how citizens engage with the political information environment and how these practices influence their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. His recent research focuses on misinformation and deepfakes, which are images or recordings that have been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.
Contact: carnaha9@msu.edu
“Media literacy has become ever important in an increasingly noisy and confusing media landscape. The rise of alternative ‘news’ outlets, misinformation and manipulated content has made it difficult for people to distinguish fiction from reality. Perhaps the most concerning trend in this regard is the rapid emergence of AI, which can contribute to the production of highly realistic images and videos that can deceive even the most attentive citizens (e.g., deepfakes). The development of skills aimed at differentiating real and fake content, such as identifying the signs of questionable content, employing verification practices, and engaging in reverse image searches, has become vital in helping citizens navigate this landscape.”
Anjana Susarla is the Omura-Saxena Professor in Responsible AI in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems at the Broad College of Business. Her research interests include the economics of information systems, social media analytics and the economics of artificial intelligence. She regularly comments on AI, policy regulations and politics in national media outlets.
Contact: asusarla@broad.msu.edu
“In today’s world, digital platforms are acting as gatekeepers, using algorithmic recommendations to decide which stories get priority and to micro-target individuals with personalized newsfeeds using the enormous data they have on user preferences. As consumers of information, we need to be aware of how targeted advertisements and digital platform tools shape the information ecosystem that we are part of.”
More media literacy and communication experts are available on MSUToday.
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