MI-GOV Megathread: 👵🏻 Gram died alone.

[NewYorkExpress]

Whitmer has raised $8.5 million so far in 2021, setting a new record for off years for Gubernatorial candidates.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has raised $8.5 million so far this year for her reelection bid, a larger haul than any gubernatorial candidate in the state has raised in any previous off year.

Whitmer’s campaign said in a press release that the governor has over $10 million cash on hand and that the total amount she raised is already over $500,000 more than she hauled in during the entire 2018 cycle. Whitmer has now raised over $14 million for the 2022 cycle and has taken in money from over 25,000 contributors.

[NewYorkExpress]

John James is out and will instead run for Congress in MI-10.

Republican businessman John James announced Monday he is launching a campaign for the open U.S. House seat in the competitive new 10th District that's centered on Macomb County.

James, 40, of Farmington Hills is the highest profile GOP candidate to enter the race for the district, which covers parts of Macomb and Oakland counties including Rochester Hills, Warren and Sterling Heights.

The businessman had been recruited by national Republicans who hoped he'd run but he was also considered a possible contender for the gubernatorial race. In an interview Monday, the former U.S. Senate candidate and Army veteran acknowledged he had weighed the possibility of running against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

"That was something that I prayed about hard," James said. "It’s something that I really labored over. After talking to my wife, we both came to the conclusion that I want to serve my country again.”

[NewYorkExpress]

Alright so what's Whitmer going to use her second genie wish on?

If I were her, I would wish that her would-be murderers who got off instead got the justice they deserved.

Well, they deserve to be executed, and that isn't happening, so she probably should wish for something else (like a Biden victory in 2024, maybe with her replacing Harris on the ticket?).

[NewYorkExpress]

A lawsuit is being filed seeking to keep Ryan Kelley off the ballot.

A lawsuit filed in the Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday aims to prevent Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley from appearing on the ballot after he was charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

The suit, filed by Michigan citizen Lee Estes with the help of progressive nonprofit Progress Michigan, claims that Kelley’s alleged involvement in the insurrection disqualifies him from appearing on the ballot for the general election.


Kelley pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges related to the insurrection last week, arguing that he was exercising his First Amendment rights, after being arrested by the FBI last month.

Footage from Jan. 6 shows Kelley climbed the U.S. Capitol to get to the northwest courtyard during the riot, and can be seen in the video “using his hands to support another rioter who is pulling the metal barricade,” the lawsuit claims.

“He is a clear and present danger to democracy in Michigan,” it reads.

The suit asks Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and the Board of State Canvassers to declare Kelley ineligible for both the August Republican primary, in which he is the front-runner, and the November general election based on the charges filed against him.

[NewYorkExpress]

Cook Political Reports now rates the Governor's race as Lean Democrat.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report moved the Michigan governor’s race from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat” almost a week before the GOP chooses its nominee to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

[NewYorkExpress]

A couple of names from Tudor Dixon's shortlist for her running mate have leaked.

Those names are:

Former Representative Mike Bishop and Former State Representative Jase Bolger.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/19/tudor-dixon-running-mate-shane-hernandez/10329066002/

Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon on Friday selected former state Rep. Shane Hernandez, of Port Huron, as her running mate for the November general election, announcing her choice with just over an hour to spare to meet a state party deadline.

Hernandez is a former chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee. He was also a candidate for Congress in 2020, when he lost the Republican primary to U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, of Bruce Township.

[NewYorkExpress]

Any word on when the Michigan legislature will pass the Interstate Compact?

That would bring its total to 220 with Minnesota, and with Nevada down the road it guarantees no pop-vote-winning Dem ever gets fewer electors than Clinton.

I don't think that's true cause afaik it only goes into effect once the amount of states that have signed it goes above 270 electoral votes.

That being said it's absolutely a good thing that we're getting closer and closer.

It would almost certainly be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court once a Republican leaning state bothers to sue.