When President Barack Obama stepped to the podium last night at Cass Technical High School, only a minute or two passed before he mentioned the name of former Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell as a candidate to back. [1,2,3]
Regardless of your party affiliation or how you’re planning to vote on November 6, two things stand out here. First, Michigan is that important in the 2018 mid-term election. For members of the party out of power, having the immediate-past standard-bearer share the stump is currently the top rung.
Second, Donald Trump carried our state by a margin of 10,704 votes when he was elected President of the United States two years ago. For perspective, the last Census pegged Saline population at 8,810 people. [4,5]
During an extended interview with Saline Journal earlier this week, Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum said, “We are going to have the highest turnout of any off-year election. I think Michigan will top 4.2 million. We’ve never had more than four.” [6,7]
While there has been disagreement about the attendance numbers when Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders rallied for candidates on the University of Michigan campus exactly one week earlier, there is questioning numbers reported for Cass Tech. Detroit Free Press reported “several thousand people,” and that is what it looked like in the high school gymnasium there last night. [8,9,10,11]
Thematically, this event was about casting contests at all levels of the ticket as referendum on current President Trump. Who has said what about his changes to the tax code? What can he do with a Congress of this composition or that to shape the future of the Affordable Care Act? President Obama went further to passionately argue that the current economic situation here in the United States is due to momentum from policies that his administration had set in place before leaving office, as opposed to any substantive changes made through the Trump Administration after. [12,13]
Again, depending on your politics, hearing such assertions could energize the voter base on either side. Irrespective, there was little or any talk now of a “blue wave” here. No hubris, nothing taken for granted. If there is a single point of agreement between Democrats and Republicans, it is that this will be an election year where turnout will be the most important determining factor.
As with the October 19 Sanders rally, there was an additional focus on the ostensibly Nonpartisan Section of the upcoming ballot where two candidates from among six will be elected to an eight-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court. It was also noteworthy to see former Obama Administration Attorney General Eric Holder take the podium briefly during the program to speak in favor of a Michigan proposal to create an independent redistricting commission. [16]
The stakes will continue to rise next week when Vice President Mike Pence returns once again to Michigan on behalf of Republican candidates. No word yet on whether or not he’ll mention any particular candidate from Saline. [17]
References
- Cass Technical High School (home page).
- The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama (home page).
- “Exclusive Interview With Gretchen Driskell, Democrat Party Candidate For The United States Congress From Michigan” Dell Deaton (October 15, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “It’s Official: Trump Wins Michigan in Closest Race State has ever Recorded” Phillip Stucky (November 24, 2016) The Daily Caller.
- “Saline’s Demographics” Saline.
- “Clerk / Register of Deeds” Washtenaw County Michigan.
- “Lawrence Kestenbaum” Washtenaw County Michigan.
- Bernie Sanders: US Senator for Vermont (home page).
- “Bernie Sanders rallies for Gretchen Whitmer, rails on President Trump” Jonathan Oosting (October 19, 2018) The Detroit News.
- Saline Journal was part of credentialed press for this event. Thus far, photographs have been published on this site and on our Instagram feed.
- “Barack Obama in Detroit: ‘The stakes in this election are really high’” Kathleen Gray and Lori Higgins (October 26, 2018) Detroit Free Press.
- “You Need to Start Thinking about Your 2018 Taxes Now. Seriously.” Dell Deaton (January 5, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “About the Affordable Care Act” US Department of Health & Human Services.
- “Michigan Voter Information Center: View Ballots” State of Michigan.
- “Eric H Holder Jr” Covington & Burling.
- “2018 Ballot Proposals” Secretary of State, State of Michigan.
- “Pence expected to campaign next week in Oakland County, Grand Rapids” Leonard N Fleming (October 24, 2018) The Detroit News.
