Ahhh, Michigan, how I love thee. Even though you are as confused politically as some of your words and the way you demand they be uttered. For instance, our beloved Mackinac ( mac-ki-nac) gets pronounced like this… ma-kuh-naa.

Honestly, what the hell is up with that?

Michigan, at times, shows some bright shades of purple that make some people both in the state and around the country think that we are a trending-red state. I would disagree with that in a very brisk, loud, vocal manner and tell you that this is a blue state that can venture purple on occasion. The last Republican Governor we had was John Engler and he left office at the end of 2002. Rick Snyder had an R after his name and was elected because he was more like a Democrat than a Republican. He finally made that “transition” official when he endorsed Joe Biden in the last Presidential election Finally, the last Republican Senator in this state was there for one term and left office in 2001. We have had some impressive candidates run against the two boring duds we have here and they lost.

We are a blue state.

Yet, there is a chance for the GOP to actually take Gretchen Whitmer out of the Governor’s seat and gain some other prime seats next year. The question yet to be answered is can they do it?

As we stand here today, the GOP has some momentum.

From The Detroit News…

Traditionally in Michigan, the number of candidates filing to run for office has been a sign of political energy. For the last five elections, the party with the most new candidates by Oct. 20 the year before Election Day won at the top of the ticket the following November.

But political observers and Democrats say 2022 might be different if voters view the emerging GOP crop of candidates — some of whom are focused on relitigating the integrity of the last election — as too extreme.

“I think politics as a whole has changed,” said Jon Rocha, a 40-year-old Republican from Rutland Township who’s running for the state House in west Michigan. “I think we’re seeing a complete overhaul of how campaigns have been run.”

The restrictions imposed by Whitmer’s administration to combat COVID-19 helped boost Rocha’s involvement in politics, he said. While Democrats argue the restrictions on businesses and public outings saved lives, Rocha views the policies as unconstitutional.

Gov. Whitmer has been a disaster for this state on so many levels as I have covered here at Red State.

Gretchen Whitmer Likes Private Jets, Even Flew on One to Biden Inauguration

Prosecutor Says He Has Received Hundreds of Complaints on Gov. Whitmer’s Senior Homes COVID Policies

Yet, despite her mess-ups on COVID, ignoring her own rules on COVID, flying on private jets to other states that she claimed were really bad with COVID and the nursing home debacle, her approval ratings are still above water at 48% to 46% as of last September. She also has over 12 million dollars in her reelection war chest, which is stunning.

As I said above, Michigan, at its core, is a blue state.

Yet, the GOP in the state has an opportunity to defeat a bunch of blue leftist hacks who have so badly handled everything from COVID response to parents having a say in their kids’ educations. The national momentum currently is that anyone that is close to Joe Biden is starting to stink just 9 months into his presidency. With absolutely no indication that Biden Inc. can turn around their fortunes 12 months from now with rising inflation, debacles overseas, and the bumbling and stumbling both verbally and policy-wise from POTUS, this should be a banner lead-up to November 2022 for the MI-GOP.

Why do I feel so uneasy then?

Is it heartburn? Or that I might have seen this play out before badly?

Maybe some of my fellow Michiganians can chime in and give some suggestions. You can reach out to me at [email protected] or check out my bio HERE and hit me up on social media.

Also, TONIGHT at 8 pm EDT, I will be co-hosting the Red State VIP Chat with my compadre Scott Hounsell with our Special Guests Andrew Malcolm and Dennis Santiago. If you are not part of the VIP team yet you can get a discount by using the nifty discount code LADUKE and you will be able to watch this and read a plethora of great content that the Twitter and Facebook overlords can’t censor. Check it out RIGHT HERE.