Vice President JD Vance in Michigan on Monday was the latest Republican to visit Metro Detroit in the lead-up to election that will determine Michigan’s next U.S. Senator and governor.
Republicans believe they can gain votes in Southeast Michigan after making gains in Detroit during the 2024 presidential election. That’s despite Detroit and Wayne County being mostly made up of Democratic voters.
Just under 20,000 of the more than 247,000 votes cast in the city of Detroit in 2024 were cast for President Donald Trump. However, the gain of about 8,000 Republicans votes since 2020 has some Republicans campaigning in the city.
Jason Roe, a Republican strategist working for Republican Congressional candidate Tom Barrett, believes conservatives have the ability to make inroads with Black residents. Barrett is running against Democrat Will Lawrence, who angered the Congressional Black Caucus earlier this year after his comments
He acknowledged Republicans are facing an uphill battle statewide, “there’s no metric where that’s not the case,” he said. But he believes centrist voters could be wooed by conservatives if Republicans frame the election as a battle over socialism vs. the status quo.
The midterm elections will decide whether Democrats in Congress will be able to stand up to Trump.
“We ceded the Black community for decades, and I think there’s a lot more opportunities for growth for Republicans in the Black community than there is for Democrats in rural and exurban communities.”
Roe said Black Democrats haven’t been supported by the party, pointing to gubernatorial candidate Jocleyn Benson’s choice of Sen. Winnie Brinks as her lieutenant governor, the lack of support for Garlin Gilchrist’s governor caampaign, and Hill Harper’s U.S. Senate campaign versus U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
“When you look at Detroit and how Trump performed, he went from six to 13 to 20 percent. Democrats are ignoring the Black vote at their own peril. I do not understand why they are being so arrogant about the Black vote. I think it’s going to bite them.”
The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Black Caucus Keith Williams, says Republicans are wasting their time campaigning in Detroit.
“It’s a false pretense — they’re wasting they’re time. And they’re talking to the wrong people,” Williams said. “They should be talking to ordinary folks. Instead, they’re trying to pit Arabs, Jews and Black folks against each other. What else do they have to sell? The economy isn’t good. The war, the gas prices, what do they have to sell other than negativism and tension.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Monday in Macomb County’s Sterling Heights waded into Michigan’s senate race, calling Democratic newcomer Abdul El-Sayed “evil” in remarks stumping for former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.
Vance told El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth,” after El-Sayed suggested that Vance’s late grandfather may have had racist feelings toward Second Lady Usha Vance, who is Hindu.
El-Sayed said Vance and Trump’s policies are “evil,” accusing them of “starting wars abroad when there’s peace.”
In his campaign for U.S. Senate, El-Sayed has blamed Trump for increases in gas prices in Michigan and across the country.
The war in Iran and the latest round of tariffs against Canada have many voters feeling turned off by the president, according to polling.
A Reuters/Ipsos Poll found that 57% of Americans oppose the 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, while only 20% support them. The same poll showed public support for U.S. military action in Iran at 31%, with 83% of Americans expecting the conflict to last for an extended period.
Rogers held a campaign event in Detroit last month at the home of a relative of state Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit. Whitsett gave up on being an active member of the Democratic Party last year when she cited her faith as the reason her values didn’t align. Others at the event said they supported U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens during the primary election.
“This means a lot to me to be able to have Mike come to this neighborhood, and I think he can pick up where Mike Duggan left off,” Whitsett told reporters. “I am very confident that he won’t leave us behind.”
Whitsett in her opposition cited El-Sayed’s calls for the passage of “Medicare for All,” which would increase the role of government in healthcare.
Rogers also surprised voters when he met with a Detroit City Council member last month. Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters sat down for breakfast with Rogers and his wife, Kristi, at Clique restaurant on Jefferson, a meeting that came as Waters continued to publicly question the direction and inclusiveness of Detroit’s Democratic Party leadership.
The breakfast followed Waters’ criticism of the local Democratic Party after she said she was not invited to an official party unity breakfast earlier that week.
U.S. Rep. John James last month gave remarks at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater ahead of the performances at 42 Dugg’s “4 the Trenches Tour.”
James visited controversial Pastor Lorenzo Sewell’s church on the city’s westside last month. The meeting came weeks before the pastor hosted racist agitator Jake Lang ahead of his anti-Muslim rally in Dearborn. Sewell co-hosted the rally with Lang.
“Thank you Pastor Lorenzo Sewell for inviting me to join you at 180 Church in Detroit,” James said in a post to social media. “We had a great discussion about the importance of election integrity, serving our communities, and the future of Michigan. These conversations matter. They strengthen our movement and remind us what’s at stake. Thank you for all you’re doing to serve Detroit!”
Sewell is a faith coordinator for Rogers’ campaign, who did not respond to questions about Sewell co-hosting the anti-Muslim event with Lang.
