Three Democrats are competing to be Michigan’s next governor. The party's top candidate in the Aug. 7 primary will face off in November against the top Republican candidate. Here are the Democratic candidates’ positions on some key political issues: Roads Gretchen Whitmer: Her catchphrase on the campaign trail is “just fix the damn roads” by creating a “Rebuild Michigan Bank,” which could only be used for infrastructure improvements. It would be fueled by either user fees approved by the Legislature or a statewide bond issue approved by voters that would raise $3 billion a year for roads, bridges and water infrastructure improvements. Abdul El-Sayed: Create a state “infrastructure bank,” where state dollars can be used for infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and water pipes. The bank would be fueled by a shift of money that is now given to corporations in tax incentives, bonds, a statewide property tax, and tax revenues from the sale of medical marijuana. Shri Thanedar: Convert to a graduated income tax to raise about $1.8 billion a year; ask voters to approve a $1-billion statewide bond for road improvements, beginning in 2019; use half of the projected $125 million in revenues from taxes on legalized marijuana for roads with the other half going to education; seek private and federal funding for high-speed rail from Detroit to Ann Arbor and Traverse City and to widen I-94. Where they stand: GOP candidates for governor on Michigan issues Auto insurance Gretchen Whitmer: Wants to make sure that auto insurance rates are based on a person’s driving record and not criteria such as credit scores, ZIP code or gender. And she wants to increase transparency in the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fund, which pays lifetime benefits for people critically injured in car accidents. Abdul El-Sayed: Remove health insurance coverage from auto insurance by passing single-payer health care and require that only driving-related issues, instead of credit scores and ZIP codes, be used when figuring insurance rates. Shri Thanedar: Make sure insurance companies don’t use non-driving factors, such as ZIP codes, gender, credit scores or education levels, in setting rates. Would demand transparency from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. School safety Gretchen Whitmer: Wants tougher gun laws, including universal background checks on gun purchases and a ban on assault-style weapons. Supports allowing only trained, uniformed officers to carry guns in schools and passing “red flag” legislation that would allow law enforcement to take away guns from people who have been deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others. Abdul El-Sayed: Push for tougher gun laws, including universal background checks on gun purchases and a ban on assault-style weapons. Don’t allow guns in schools, but add money for mental health services and counselors. Shri Thanedar: Supports the Second Amendment and right to bear arms, but would push for tougher gun laws, including universal background checks on gun purchases, a ban on assault-style weapons, increased penalties for people who use illegal guns and prohibiting people convicted of domestic violence from owning guns. Does not favor arming teachers. Pension tax Gretchen Whitmer: Voted against the tax as a state senator and would act to repeal it if she becomes governor. Abdul El-Sayed: Would support repeal of the pension tax, with revenue replaced by expiring corporate tax credits, which were issued by previous administrations and must be cashed in by certain dates. Shri Thanedar: Repeal the pension tax and replace it with a more progressive tax that would increase taxes on wealthy individuals. Also on Freep.com: Michigan Primary Voter Guide: Get to know the candidates, proposals on your ballot 14 candidates aiming to replace Rick Snyder as Michigan governor Legalized marijuana Gretchen Whitmer: Supports legalization for adult recreational use. Abdul El-Sayed: Supports legalization for adult recreational use. Shri Thanedar: Supports legalization for adult recreational use. Medicaid Gretchen Whitmer: Helped negotiate the Medicaid expansion in the state Senate. Says she would protect people with pre-existing conditions and work to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Ultimately wants to ensure every Michigander has health care coverage. Opposes work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Abdul El-Sayed: Opposes legislation that would require any Medicaid recipients to work. Wants a single-payer health care system that covers every Michigander. Shri Thanedar: Supports Medicaid health care coverage for all and opposes legislation that would require most Medicaid recipients to work. Wants a single-payer health care system. Enbridge Line 5 Gretchen Whitmer: As governor, she'd immediately file paperwork to end the easement and begin the legal process for shutting down Line 5. Abdul El-Sayed: Supports immediate shutdown of the pipelines carrying oil across the Straits of Mackinac. Shri Thanedar: Would shut down the pipeline immediately, based on Enbridge being in violation of its easement agreementfor missing anchor supports and other violations. Nestle permit The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in April approved a permit allowing a 60 percent increase in the amount of groundwater the bottled water company can pump from wells on land it owns near Evart, in northern Michigan. One reason the permit is controversial is that Nestle pays only a nominal fee to pump the water. Gretchen Whitmer: Would stop the company's water withdrawals. Abdul El-Sayed: Would stop the company's water withdrawals. Shri Thanedar: Would revoke the water withdrawal permit. Expand Freedom of Information Act Should the governor's office and Legislature be subject to Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, which makes most government records open to public inspection? Gretchen Whitmer: Supports expansion of FOIA to governor's office and Legislature. Abdul El-Sayed: Supports expansion of FOIA to governor's office and Legislature. Shri Thanedar: Supports expansion of FOIA to governor's office and Legislature. Financial disclosure Michigan has consistently been ranked last or near last among the 50 states for laws related to government ethics and transparency. For example, candidates and top elected and appointed state officials are not required to disclose their personal financial holdings. Gretchen Whitmer: Would require personal financial disclosures for candidates and senior appointees, who would be subject to new conflict of interest laws. Abdul El-Sayed: Would require personal and family financial disclosures for all elected officials in state and local offices. Shri Thanedar: Would require financial disclosure for Treasury officials investing public funds and any candidates running for state office. State income tax Gretchen Whitmer: Not proposing a state income tax cut. Wants to invest in talent, education and fixing roads. Abdul El-Sayed: Favors a progressive income tax in which higher-income earners pay a higher rate. Shri Thanedar: Supports a progressive income tax structure in which families making $50,000 or less would pay no state income tax and those earning more than $200,000 would pay a higher rate. K-12 schooling Gretchen Whitmer: Stop raids on the School Aid Fund that are diverting hundreds of millions of dollars annually from K-12 schools. Improve pay for teachers. Wants more literacy coaches and career navigators for high school students. Abdul El-Sayed: Start school at age 3, not age 5. Increase funding and make it more equitable, investing in school buildings and teacher pay. End the charter school profit margin. Shri Thanedar: Wants universal pre-kindergarten education, starting at age 3. Increase investment in K-12, including improved pay for teachers and more money for at-risk schools. Part-time Legislature Gretchen Whitmer: Opposed, saying it would aggravate current problems with lawmakers not developing needed expertise and too much power in the hands of special interests. Abdul El-Sayed: Opposed. Shri Thanedar: Opposed. Drinking water/Great Lakes The lead contamination of drinking water in the City of Flint has recently been followed by news of another drinking water threat in Michigan — high levels of perfluoroalkyl and ployfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, once commonly used in fire-fighting foam and other commercial and industrial applications and which can be harmful to human health. What would each candidate do to protect drinking water and/or the Great Lakes? Gretchen Whitmer: Says clean drinking water is a fundamental human right and she would create a Department of Great Lakes and Fresh Water. Her infrastructure plan would replace all lead drinking water lines in Michigan communities, with Flint completed first. Plan also would address other drinking water threats, such as PFAS.<doc-sep>In the 2018 midterm elections in Michigan, Democrats are in good shape to keep a Senate seat and retake the governor’s mansion — and the Wolverine State also gives them a couple of chances to pick up House wins. Two Michigan House elections are outright toss-ups, and a couple of others could be in play if Democrats build a big enough blue wave. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow looks to be in good shape to hold the Senate seat on the ballot in 2018. Democrats could also retake the governor’s mansion, and the political environment is favorable enough here for them that election forecasters think they could take the state House, despite a sizable deficit in seats. The gubernatorial fight has shaped up to feature an interesting tussle among progressive and establishment Democrats. Polls close at 8 pm ET in Michigan. Live results, powered by Decision Desk, are below. Michigan governor’s primary elections: a tight race on both sides for an open governor’s seat Republican Gov. Rick Snyder is retiring with dismal approval ratings during the Flint water crisis. In a recent NBC/Marist survey of the GOP primary, Attorney General Bill Schuette (36 percent) had built a decent lead over Lt. Gov. Calley (26 percent) with lots of voters undecided. On the Democratic side, former State Senate Democratic leader Gretchen Whitmer has narrowly led in the polling. She looks like the slight favorite, while prominent progressives like Alexandria Oscaio-Cortez are trying push Abdul El-Sayed to an upset victory. Both parties still need to get through their August primaries, but NBC/Marist polled a hypothetical general election matchup with the leading candidates. They found Whitmer leading Schuette 47 percent to 38 percent. Cook Political Report thinks the governor’s race is a toss-up. Michigan Senate primary elections: Stabenow is expected to sail through Business executive and veteran John James and business executive/Yale and Harvard economist Sandy Pensler are considered the Republican frontrunners. Polls have shown James, one of the few black Republicans in big races this year, with a slight but persistent lead. Stabenow should be fine; polls put her up by a lot over her potential challengers. Cook puts this in the Likely Democratic camp. Michigan Sixth Congressional District: a packed field angles to take on Rep. Fred Upton Four Democrats are on the ballot. Matt Longjohn, a former YMCA and public health official, has raised a lot of money and might have the most compelling story, having jumped into the race after Upton’s vote for the repeal legislation. David Benac is a Western Michigan history professor trying to run as a grassroots candidate. Rich Eichholz is a scientist arguing for evidenced-based policy. George Franklin, a former Kellogg lobbyist also raising a lot of money, rounds out the field. The 6th, like the 1st, is more of a long-shot for Democrats. Cook has it as Likely Republican and rates the district as R+4. Upton is an entrenched incumbent. But Trump’s margin of victory was narrower here — 8 points — and the district has elected the more moderate Upton for decades. It seems at least conceivable that an anti-Trump wave could sweep him out of office, if Democrats successfully tie him to the president. But it probably would take a significant wave. Michigan Seventh Congressional District: a seasoned Democrat and a “Berniecrat” seek to topple a Republican incumbent Gretchen Driskell was put on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue list, meaning Washington Democrats like what they’ve seen from her campaign. She comes from a Navy family and has served as a mayor and now in the state legislature. She has run here before, having lost to Rep. Tim Walberg in 2016 by 15 points. Her only competition on the ballot is Steven Friday, running as a self-identified “Berniecrat.” This is another Likely Republican district; according to Cook it’s R+7. Trump won by 17 points, and the district is very white and not particularly well-educated. But the 7th District has swung in prior wave elections (see 2008 and 2010), and Driskell profiles as the kind of candidate Democrats think can compete in areas like the 7th. Her 2016 loss to Walberg was actually a little narrower than Clinton’s, too, if you’re looking for a reason to be optimistic. Michigan Eighth Congressional District: a former CIA officer strives to flip this toss-up district to blue Elissa Slotkin is another name on the DCCC’s Red to Blue list. She is a former CIA officer who worked on the White House National Security Council under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. She definitely has the look that Democrats like for these swing districts: a history of military and public service. Women are also cleaning up in Democratic primaries, as Vox has documented. Her only competition is Chris Smith, a Michigan State University public policy professor, running on good government and Medicare-for-all. The 8th is a toss-up, according to Cook, and the district is just R+4. Clinton lost to Trump by less than 7 points here in 2016. It covers an area near Lansing, the state capital, and its constituents are a little better educated — all ingredients that could give Democrats an edge. Michigan 11th Congressional District: a competitive primary for both sides of the aisle Rep. David Trott is retiring, so it’s an open seat. The GOP primary is very competitive, with a lot of credible candidates. Among them are former US Rep. Kerry Bentivolio and several state lawmakers: Sen. Mike Kowall, Rep. Klint Kesto and former Rep. Rocky Raczkowski. Self-funding business executive Lena Epstein rounds out the field for Republicans. It’s also a wide open field for the Democrats. Suneel Gupta, brother of doctor and CNN personality Sanjay Gupta, has the most money. Former Obama auto rescue official Haley Stevens has some union support and Hillary Clinton’s endorsement. Fayrouz Saad is angling to be the first Muslim woman elected to Congress and she got the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement. Current Michigan Rep. Tim Greimel is also on the ballot. The 11th looks like a toss-up. Trump beat Clinton by just four points here, and the district profiles as R+4. It’s pretty diverse and very well-educated. Having no incumbent could be an advantage for Democrats, but it’s hard to know exactly how the race will look until we see who wins the primaries on Tuesday. But the 11th should be a focus for both parties in the battle for the House. Michigan 13th Congressional District, special election: Conyers’s great-nephew is among those vying for his old seat Rep. John Conyers had to retire after sexual harassment allegations. His successor will be picked in this Democratic primary, barring something unforeseen. HIs great-nephew, State Sen. Ian Conyers, is running. So is Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. She is the subject of a strong campaign to elect an African-American woman for this city district. Westland Mayor Bill Wild and lefty former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib are the rest of the field, with Talib raising a lot of money and both running progressive platforms. Because of a Michigan election law quirk, there will be in November both a special election to fill the last few months of Conyers’s term and then a regular election for the term starting in 2019. Whoever wins the primary will be the next representative for this 57 percent black district.<doc-sep>As the primary draws nearer, candidates are getting in their last-minute pushes for votes. The Michigan primary is just a few days away, and several of the gubernatorial candidates are doing some of their last campaign stops in West Michigan. On the Republican side, candidate and Attorney General, Bill Schuette, was in Muskegon Heights, Grand Haven and Portage on Saturday as part of his 10-day Time to Win Again tour. In Grand Haven, Schuette attended the Coast Guard Festival Grand Parade. "It was a big day today, but we're working hard," said Schuette. "Started in Muskegon, then go to the Coast Guard Festival, which will be really cool—and pretty hot, so to speak. Then I'll go to Kalamazoo meet with some supporters." Schuette will be back in West Michigan on Monday, where he will visit voters in Grand Rapids at the Downtown Market. Looking ahead to Tuesday's election, Schuette said, "The most important thing is to get out and vote and participate." Lt. Gov. Brian Calley also made several stops in West Michigan on Friday. He was campaigning in Grand Rapids, Grandville, Zeeland, Hudsonville and Holland. In Grandville, Calley toured the Grand Castle Apartments building. Patrick Colbeck also attended the Coast Guard Festival Grand Parade on Saturday, and he met with voters in Fruitport. On the Democratic side, Gretchen Whitmer was also making several stops across West Michigan. She was in Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids on Saturday knocking on doors. Abdul El-Sayed was making his way across Michigan on Saturday with stops in Detroit, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, Lansing and ending in Kalamazoo. He also had two actors helping canvas for him on Saturday, Shailene Woodley and Kendrick Sampson. "I think every voter in Michigan matters right now," said El-Sayed. "Because every voter matters, we're here in Kalamazoo having conversations with voters about what it is we need to do." El-Sayed was recently endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sanders will be at El-Sayed's rallies in Detroit and Ypsilanti on Sunday. The other Democratic candidate for governor, Shri Thanedar was in Detroit on Saturday. And the other Republican candidate, Jim Hines, did not have any events listed for Saturday, but he will be in Caro, in the thumb on Sunday. ►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.<doc-sep>
The Democrats For Governor In Michigan Want You To Know Just How Progressive They Are Enlarge this image toggle caption Carlos Osorio/AP Carlos Osorio/AP Michigan Democrats are itching to take back the governor's seat that Republicans have held for eight years. But first, they have to choose their candidate in Tuesday's primary. In a state that went narrowly for President Trump in 2016, for the Democrats, it's all about showing your progressive bona fides. Elbows swinging among the candidates, the most common jab is about how progressive the others really are. There's Gretchen Whitmer, the former leader of the state Senate Democrats who says she's got a proven, progressive track record. Shri Thanedar is the scientist and millionaire businessman who says he's the only candidate who knows what it's like to live in poverty. And there's Abdul El-Sayed, a Detroit health official who's Muslim, and has the backing of the Senator who reignited the whole progressive movement with his bid for the White House, Bernie Sanders. To show his support, Sanders came to Michigan just days before the primary to stump for El-Sayed. As did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the surprise Democratic progressive nominee for Congress. She came out for a tour of rallies around the state with El-Sayed, bringing in supporters like Heather Alexander. "Maybe I am a progressive, maybe I'm not," she said. "But, like, I think, for me it's more important to just align policies." Inside the rally, voters held up signs and cheered for El-Sayed, especially when he spoke about picking a progressive for the party nomination. As he put it, they have a choice: "That choice is between the old way of doing things and a new perspective on our future, and that choice is between what they say is impossible and we will make real," he said. While El-Sayed has the support of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, Shri Thanedar is the candidate who, in his ads, claims to be, "The most progressive Democrat for governor." Thanedar has run a lot of ads and pumped millions of dollars of his own money into the race. But not everyone agrees with his "most progressive" designation. YouTube Lonnie Scott is with Progress Michigan - a non-profit watchdog group that promotes progressive values. He said Thanedar doesn't measure up to the label he's given himself. "Show me one progressive who believes that it's a progressive value to spend 11 million dollars buying yourself a governor's race," Scott says. But Thanedar points to his support for single-payer health care and free four-year college as his progressive qualifications, though he hasn't gotten the endorsements of progressive groups or unions. He's also donated to both sides of the aisle, saying he's given more to Democrats. Scott says El-Sayed and Gretchen Whitmer, the candidate leading in the polls, are the real progressives. But that hasn't stopped El-Sayed from accusing Whitmer of being a part of the Democratic establishment. When it comes to Whitmer's standing as a progressive, she says she's got the receipts. "I am a Democrat. I am a progressive Democrat," Whitmer recently said to reporters during a Get Out the Vote event. Whitmer has worked on issues like expanding Medicaid and increasing the state's minimum wage. In 2013, speaking out against a bill she said was anti-women, Whitmer stood on the Senate floor and told her colleagues that she had been raped. Enlarge this image toggle caption Cheyna Roth/Michigan Radio Cheyna Roth/Michigan Radio "It's something I've hidden for a long time," she said. "But I think you need to see the face of the women you are impacting by this vote today." That was years before the #MeToo and Times Up movements when her critics called her "too progressive." While Whitmer and El-Sayed continue to fight over the meaning of being a progressive, Lonnie Scott says they show the party headed in a new direction, "I think you saw this when people voted for Trump - the public wants someone who is real and who is going to work on the issues that affect them." Democrats have been without a majority in the Michigan legislature and without a seat in the governor's office for years. Supporters at rallies and other campaign events say they hope their candidate gets the nomination, but they're willing to vote for the party's choice come November.