MichMash Politics

The Michigan race grabbing national attention continues to be the US Senate Race between Abdul El-Sayed and Former Rep Mike Rogers. This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Rotha and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben discuss how both candidates are looking with just a few weeks left til the midterm.
We are joined by Wood TV's political reporter Rick Albin. 

We have a brand new edition of our midshow game show, Big Deal Little Deal.

And it's someone's birthday today. Guess who?!

The gubernatorial race is hitting a critical point as we are less than a month away from the midterm elections. This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow discuss how campaign funds might make a difference in the race for governor. 
We also will the 2nd Big Deal, Little Deal game!

Then later in the episode Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, stops by to make her case for governor.

The midterms are less than a month away and there is one race that hasn't received as much attention as the others. This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben discuss the race and talk to the candidates running in it. 

And the MichMash crew debuts a brand new game!

All across the country, states are trying to alleviate the pressure at the pump with a gasoline or diesel tax suspension. Will Michigan be next? This week on WDET's MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the latest news and the potential of relief for Michigan drivers. 

Then later in the episode we have Republican political consultant, Jason Roe, give his outlook on the 2026 midterm elections. 

Is it time to rewrite the Michigan's constitution? Voters will decide in about a month during the midterms. This week on WDET's weekly series MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the likelihood of that happening. They sit down with PR professionals John Sellek and Mark Fisk who oppose the constitutional revision. 

Control for the Michigan legislature is on the line in this year's midterm elections. As part of WDET's weekly series... Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discusses the ten races they believe might flip from one party to another. They are joined with Gongwer's Assistant Editor Elena Durnbaugh who covers the state house.

With only a couple of months left until the midterms, the gubernatorial candidates are trying to build support to become the state's next governor. This week on WDET's MichMash...Gongwer News Service Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss how this race for governor is different than previous ones.

They are joined by founder of the public relations firm, Bitely Communications, Andrea Bitely. 

Ballot proposals drama, the significance of a report on the Flint water crisis and mixed feelings about funding for a copper mine...there was a lot to cover this week. This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben break down all the major headlines with The Detroit News' Beth LeBlanc.

Governor Whitmer as well as governors across the country have a decision to make regarding a federal program in connection with the Reconciliation Program. This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow unpack the details of this program. They are joined by Prof Josh Cowen of Michigan State University and Peter Spadafore who leads the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity.

The progressive wing of the Democratic party made some noise in the recent primaries. What has been the key to their success so far? This week on MichMash, WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow chat with Chris Gilmer-Hill...one of the progressives who won his race.

Gilmer-Hill shares why he feels like he was able to win.

The 2026 Michigan primaries not only affected the state but may have national implications as well. This week on MichMash, WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben break down the results and what they may forecast for the midterm elections. They are joined by Associate Press reporter, Joey Cappelletti.

This year's primaries feature some competitive races that will mark battle lines come November and may even point to national trends. This week on MichMash, WDET'S Cheyna Roth, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss some of the key things to look out for in Tuesday's elections.
They are joined by Gongwer reporters Nick Smith and Lily Guiney.

With Former Michigan Attorney General, Mike Cox, dropping out of the gubernatorial race, how does that shape the Republican primary? This week on MichMash...WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben discuss the remaining candidates and they hear from a prominent Republican leader on their thoughts on the race.

Then later on Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall stops by to talk about the race and some recent spending proposals.

Tensions are high in Lansing among the Democrats with Governor Whitmer vetoing a series a bills from her own party. This week, on MichMash, WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Services' Zach Gorchow unpack the 18 months of legal battles that led to this moment. Then later on, David Meninga, senior vice president for Community Development Programs & Execution at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation stops by. He talks about reviving the transformational brownfield program, a state incentive that ended a few years ago but will soon come back once Governor Whitmer signs bills that passed the Legislature on July 3.

Both the Democratic US Senate debate and the Republican gubernatorial debate showed the divides among the party's candidates. This week on MichMash, WDET's Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow break down the major components of the race. 

Spoiler alert: MichMash may have been indirectly mentioned in one of the debates.

The Republican gubernatorial race just had a major shake up with President Donald Trump making an endorsement. This week on MichMash, WDET'S Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben discuss how surprising the endorsement was and what this means for the upcoming primaries. 

Also, with Cheyna being back, we thought we would catch her up on the major political stories from the past couple of months and look ahead to see what the rest of 2026 has in store. 

Over the past month, the Michigan US Senate race has proven to be one of the most competitive races in the country. This week on WDET's MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Altheia Kasben breakdown the major events that have shaped the race.

Then later on, State Senator Sam Singh stops by to share what's been going on in the State capitol.  

A ballot measure that would prevent political spending by Michigan’s regulated utilities and large state contractors might be on the November ballet. As part of WDET's weekly series...MichMash...Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss what is in the proposal and how opponents and supporters of the measure are reacting. 

The co-chairs of Michiganders for Money out of Politics, Sean McBrearty and Christy McGillivray, stop by to talk about their proposal. 

The Mackinac Policy Conference had a couple of surprising moments from lawmakers, leaders, and political candidates. This week on WDET's MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben give a glimpse of some of the news happening on the island. Gongwer reporter Liz Nass joins the conversation from the conference to share her coverage of the annual meeting. 

We have less than 6 months until the midterm elections... and independent candidate Mike Duggan has dropped out of the race. This week on WDET's weekly series, MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss what elements led the former Detroit Mayor to making his decision and reactions it drew from both Democrats and Republicans.

And then later on in the episode we talk about earmarks. Earmarks are ways to get projects approved for local governments. Due to a decision from the Michigan’s Court of Claims, what lawmakers consider an earmark may change. Gorchow and Kasben also discuss how the evolution of this type of funding led to current criticisms. Patrick Wright, Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, joins to help explain the decision.

An important state senate race for Michigan's 35th Senate District was decided Tuesday, and it could have huge implications for the November midterm elections. This week on WDET's weekly series, MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss what how the race was decided. They are joined by Alvin "AJ" Jones from WCMU Public Radio to break it all down.