Michigan voters helped swing the Electoral College to Donald Trump in 2016 and then to Joe Biden in 2020. The votes were close in each election, with the winner decided by 0.2 percent in 2016 and 2.8 percent in 2020.
The state’s major cities, including Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Grand Rapids, are Democratic strongholds, while the smaller cities and rural areas tend to vote Republican in national elections.
From the shores of the Port of Detroit to the sandy beaches of Grand Haven, The Epoch Times traveled Michigan from coast to coast to find out how this year’s political messaging is landing with voters.
Jake Anderson, 28, an epidemiologist from Grand Rapids, said he has seen ads from both campaigns that give negative information about the other candidate.
“I would say, overall, it’s a pretty dividing way,” Anderson said.
Anderson, who is employed by a nonprofit working with Native Americans, said that while he’s not very involved in politics, he’d like to see more bipartisanship.
“Just to focus on working together. That would be my biggest takeaway,” he said.
Javon Shivers, 28, of Saginaw, Michigan, said he had received mail from the Harris–Walz campaign but did not pay much attention to it.
“I’m really not into politics,” he said. “I’m my own president. That’s how I look at it.”
The clothing entrepreneur said he sees a disconnect between politics and the lives of ordinary people.
“It really doesn’t change anything for me myself,” he said. “You still have to live your day-to-day life outside of what they’re doing.”
Shivers said he would like to see the candidates speak candidly about the issues.
“I would like to see them talk about the truth, about what’s really going on in society,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve seen some ads,” Germaine Green, 51, of Grand Rapids, said. “I’m probably not going to vote for either one of them.”
Green said he'd like to hear candidates talk more about illegal immigration and its effect on working people.
“They’re giving all this money to immigrants, like food stamps. The average American wants to see money in their paycheck.”
Sam Bayle, 33, of Grand Rapids, said he had seen advertisements from both campaigns but that none made a positive impression on him.
“I get through them as quick as I can because I’m sick of seeing all of them, to be completely honest,” he said.
“I would like a little talk about the general way that government works, like all the money involved in it.
“A little more transparency in terms of where funding is coming from and what you’re looking to do. Actual conversations instead of just the party line.”
Larena Singleton, 50, of Detroit, said she has received mail from both the Harris and Trump campaigns.
“We’re being bombarded with it,” she said. “At least five days a week, we get mail from both.”
Singleton said she dislikes the tone she hears from both campaigns.
“I don’t like the bickering back and forth,” she said. “Debating is one thing, but then when you’re trying to throw shade or throw dirt on each other, that’s something different.
“Both campaigns should be talking more about helping the homeless and about education.”
Many children are not being fully educated in public schools, she said. Education should be “getting the kids back into the fundamentals.”
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