Party on the Peninsulas with Curtis Hertel Jr.

This Week… the Democratic Trifecta This week’s guest: Representative-elect Joanna Whaley 2026 General Election Results (Unofficial) In the News The Election Darrin Camilleri elected as Michigan Democratic Senate leader | Fox2 Detroit Puri To Be House’s Next Speaker; Pohutsky Returns As SPT; Young Remains Detroit Chair | MIRS News Michigan election firsts: Muslim, LGBTQ, Democratic socialist wins | Bridge Michigan Will Lawrence: From Climate Activism to the House of Representatives | The New York Times Will Lawrence Ran on Fighting Data Centers. Now, He’s Going to Congress | WIRED Women To Hold Record Numbers Of Seats In House, Senate | MIRS News Trans and nonbinary candidates won state and local elections | 19th News How Abdul El-Sayed actually did with Jewish voters | POLITICO How Abdul El-Sayed overcame Islamophobia in Michigan’s Senate race | The Washington Post Straight-Ticket Gains Help Democrats Flip Competitive House Seats | MIRS News The Pollwatcher: How accurate were the midterm polls? | Washington Post The Policy Agenda Q&A: Michigan’s next House speaker wants ‘transformational’ change | Bridge Michigan Midterm Wave Sets a Course for ‘Medicare for All’ Fight – KFF Health News El-Sayed: Fire The Parliamentarian If She Blocks Healthcare Reform | The Lever DTE,[...]

This Week… Michigan Democrats Sweep the 2026  Midterms 2026 General Election Results (Unofficial) In the News The Election Opinion | Abdul El-Sayed’s Historic Win in Michigan Answers Several Questions | The New York Times Transgender ads again a dominant Republican theme | AP News How Trump Lost the Midterms – | Wall Street Journal Trump and Republicans Begin Pointing Fingers After Sweeping Midterms Losses | The New York Times Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald to request recount after loss | Detroit Free Press The Left’s Donors Don’t Hold Grudges. The Establishment’s Do. | The Lever The Pollwatcher: How accurate were the midterm polls? | Washington Post And now … 2028! Let’s talk presidential candidates and where four Michiganders stand  | Kyle Melinn/Lansing City Pulse Newly elected Democrats could become 2028 presidential power brokers | NBC News Midterms over, Democrats plunge into wide-open 2028 presidential race | Reuters The Policy Agenda Mackinac Center Sues Over Passage Of Prop 2 | MIRS News More Than 4 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Will Have Their Medicare Advantage or Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Plan Terminated at the End of 2026 | KFF Is Montana Holding the Key to Undoing Citizens United? – Mother Jones Trump Crime, Corruption[...]

This Week… How Obama and Trump Made their Cases in Dueling Midterm Speeches The New York Times Obama calls Trump incompetent as he rallies Democrats in Detroit Detroit Free Press Obama rallies rapturous Michigan crowd for El-Sayed: ‘He’ll finish the job we started’ The Guardian In the News Politics and Policy In Islamophobic Rant, Trump Seeks to Stir Republican Base in Michigan | The New York Times Trump escalates anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan, drawing Arab American rebuke | The Washington Post Mike Rogers claims without evidence Abdul El-Sayed has “pledged his support” Muslim Brotherhood | Washington Post Mike Rogers said Abdul El-Sayed didn’t disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. Video shows he did | PolitiFact Michigan’s anti-El-Sayed movement has a Republican problem | Opinion | Detroit Free Press Mike Rogers spars with ‘Meet the Press’ host in heated interview | Detroit News Michigan’s Mike Rogers Got Big Payout Before Controversial Cybersecurity Firm Went Bankrupt | The American Prospect VIDEO: Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on X: “You know it’s true🎶 Everything Mike does🎶 He does it for Trump🎶  700 doctors endorse Abdul El-Sayed as GOP attacks his credentials | Detroit News Fact check: Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers debate NAFTA, Medicare for All,[...]

This Week… The Free Press endorses Jocelyn Benson for Governor,  Eli Savit for Attorney General,  Garlin Gilchrist for Secretary of State In the News Politics and Policy Mike Rogers’ attacks on Abdul El-Sayed cross a dangerous line | Opinion | Detroit Free Press Detroit Democrats challenge Mike Rogers’ touted gains with Black voters in US Senate race | Michigan Advance Rogers and allies go scorched earth to stop El-Sayed | Kyle Melinn/Lansing City Pulse How an Abdul El-Sayed Opponent Handed Him a Campaign Highlight | Wall Street Journal Man who heckled Abdul El-Sayed is former Josh Hawley aide, records show | The Guardian Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed issues AI policy | The Washington Post Vance In Monroe Calls El-Sayed ‘Little Weasel,’ Pitches To Black Voters, Moderate Dems | MIRS News Michigan’s Mike Rogers Got Big Payout Before Controversial Cybersecurity Firm Went Bankrupt | The American Prospect The Jewish Case for Electing Abdul El-Sayed | The New Republic Elissa Slotkin hopes Dem probes will deter grads from working for Trump | Detroit News Rep. Bill Huizenga and state Sen. Sean McCann could be a race to watch | Detroit Free Press Bill Huizenga, Sean McCann duke it out in Michigan’s 4th[...]

This Week… The Free Press endorses Jocelyn Benson for Governor,  Eli Savit for Attorney General,  Garlin Gilchrist for Secretary of State In the News Politics and Policy RGA Scales Back On James | MIRS News Mike Rogers defended tariffs against Canada, now wants to end trade war | Detroit Free Press El-Sayed, Rogers trade barbs, accusations during first televised US Senate debate | Michigan Advance Michigan U.S. Senate race will shape SCOTUS, federal judiciary | Opinion | Detroit Free Press Fact check: Mike Rogers voted against drug imports from Canada | Bridge Michigan Michigan’s El-Sayed Has Trump Fuming, AOC Buzzing and Obama Stumping | Wall Street Journal Fact check: John James, Jocelyn Benson debate data centers, tariffs, more | Bridge Michigan Trump photo moved off John James campaign main page | Detroit News Insider Trump policies, inflammatory tweets dominate Barrett, Lawrence debate | Lansing State Journal Democrats See An Opening In MI-01 As 2026 Battlefield Expands | MIRS News Trump PAC helps drive Michigan Senate race toward record spending | Bridge Michigan Mike Rogers claims he was an assembly line worker. The UAW said that is stretching the truth. | Michigan Advance Up North project raises questions about AG nominee’s[...]

This Week… Michigan families have paid more than $26 billion, or $6,419 per household, in tariff-driven costs | Smart Trade Alliance Rogers calls for swift end to Iran War; El-Sayed says he’s ‘flip-flopping’ | Detroit News In the News Politics and Policy Will Lawrence rolls out plan for regulating Big Tech, data centers in Michigan and beyond | Michigan Advance Advocates, moms and lawmakers push for group prenatal care as Legislature weighs insurer issues | Michigan Advance The Medicaid Work Requirement’s Gambling Loophole | American Enterprise InstituteCould healthcare price transparency lower costs? Mike Rogers thinks so | Bridge Michigan New poll shows El-Sayed leads Michigan Senate race, helped by Trump | USA Today Bombshell Poll Shows Dems Breaking Through in Trump Country | Daily Beast Democrats Can Win Back the Midwest – Rahm Emanuel | Wall Street Journal Some Michigan Republicans see a ‘huge struggle’ ahead in fall election | Detroit News Massive primary turnout points to biggest year for Democrats since Watergate | The DownBallot The lie dominating Musk’s 2026 political ads | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack Fact check: What Abdul El-Sayed said about prison sentences, freeing inmates | Bridge Michigan Reps. McDonald Rivet, Davis Lead New Push to[...]

This Week… More voters identifying as Democrats and not calling themselves Republican – Gallup Supreme Court rejects Trump’s mail ballot limits before elections | AP News Democrats say supreme court rejection of Trump mail ballot plans will ensure ‘safe, secure and accurate elections’ | The Guardian Don’t watch the Bari Weiss version of 60 Minutes | Indistinct Chatter Substack The Bari Weiss Era of ‘60 Minutes’ Begins | The New York Times In the News Politics and Policy Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, rips Republican Mike Rogers | Detroit News Abdul El-Sayed Says It’s Time to ‘Pause’ AI Development | The Washington Sun Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan Democrats hit GOP on Trump’s Canada trade war | USA Today Abdul El-Sayed accuses Mike Rogers of being ‘a sock puppet’ | Detroit News Why Tucker Carlson has effectively endorsed Abdul El-Sayed | MS NOW Trump targets U.S. Senate candidate El-Sayed with misleading claims | Detroit Free Press Democrats add Will Lawrence to congressional battleground program | Detroit News Trump Takes Aim At Lawrence, Lawrence Welcomes The Attention | MIRS News Can William Lawrence, a Progressive, Flip a Key Michigan House Seat ? | The New York Times I’ve Covered Islamophobia for Years.[...]

This Week… More voters identifying as Democrats and not calling themselves Republican – Gallup Fact check: No evidence Abdul El-Sayed ‘pledged support’ to Muslim Brotherhood | Bridge Michigan In the News Politics and Policy Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host: “I wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gun point” | Detroit News Fact check: Would ‘money out of politics’ proposal live up to its name? | Bridge Michigan Fact check: Did John James vote to increase health costs for Michiganders? | Bridge Michigan Amid ‘mass proliferation,’ Flock cameras emerge as key issue in Michigan election | Bridge Michigan Can William Lawrence, a Progressive, Flip a Key Michigan House Seat ? | The New York Times Michigan aims to test pay-per-mile road funding system in 2027 | mlive.com Michigan students impacted by new federal loan limits | Detroit Free Press The mystery behind an audio clip that helped upend a Senate race | The Washington Post Attacking the Constitution & Elections Legal veterans lead fightback against Trump’s ‘full-out assault on democracy’ | The Guardian The hidden dangers of Musk’s votesafe.org | Judd Legum – Popular Information Don’t watch the Bari Weiss version of 60 Minutes | Indistinct Chatter Substack The Economy[...]

This Week… Michigan Democrats Nominate History-Making Ticket In the News Michigan Politics and Policy Benson holds edge over James in governor’s race, Michigan poll says | Detroit Free Press John James’ wealth soared in Congress as he traded stocks in industries he helped oversee | Detroit Metro Times Michigan Democrats project unity at convention | Detroit Free Press Democrats say they’re unified for November amid lingering tension | Detroit News Orders to keep coal plant open fuel Michigan political fight: Insider | Detroit News Michigan can ease doctor shortage by raising pay for primary care, group says | Bridge Michigan Michigan among states most vulnerable to Canada retaliatory tariffs | Detroit News New tariffs on Canada heighten Michigan Democrats’ affordability attacks on Trump, GOP • Michigan Advance Bill Huizenga took campaign donations after company pursued deal with his businesses | Detroit Metro Times Vance Calls El-Sayed ‘Very, Very Evil’ At Macomb Rally” | MIRS News Abdul El-Sayed faced wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric after Michigan Senate primary win – The Washington Post VIDEO – Michigan Senate nominee El-Sayed in fiery Fox News interview | Fox News El-Sayed says Hasan Piker does not speak for his campaign amid comments about Jewish candidate[...]

This Week… This week —