There was a time when the Flint, Saginaw and Bay City region was considered safe Democratic territory in Michigan. But no more.
The Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns are fighting over this swing region in the swing state.
Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Saginaw County. Vice President Kamala Harris took over a hockey arena in Flint to rally her supporters. Their surrogates have been stumping for votes. On Monday, First Lady Jill Biden will make a campaign stop in Bay City.
Jesse Donahue is a political science professor at Saginaw Valley State University. She says there are many reasons why mid-Michigan voters have fallen into play in the presidential and down ballot races.
Donahue says Democratic policies on electric vehicles and student loan forgiveness are driving some urban mid-Michigan voters to vote for Republicans.
“I think in terms of White folks…where you might be seeing the Trump signs…I think that those are some of their concerns,” says Donahue.
But Donahue says Republicans have also seen some erosion in their traditional rural voter base. That’s evident in the number of Harris/Walz signs popping up along rural roads.
“Both sides have lost from their own typical constituencies a little city.” said Donahue. “So it makes it really hard to understand or predict what’s going to happen.”
