Talking Michigan Politics

Running mates for Rick Snyder and Virg Bernero and Grand Rapids says no to backyard chickens on this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast with Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder. 1. The running mate sweepstakes. Lots of names on both sides. And GOP candidate Rick Snyder, either has a number of fans of the Washington Post's "The Fix" column , or his campaign staff is working overtime to pump up their results in the column's unscientific daily poll. Meanwhile, the debate about debates has begun in earnest with Democratic candidate Virg Bernero calling for at least eight. As expected, Snyder had the out-of-the-gate lead in the first poll. 2. Should tax cuts stay or go? Debate over continuing Bush tax cuts. 3. City commissioners chicken out. In a surprise move Tuesday, Grand Rapids city commissioners killed an ordinance that would have allowed residents to raise chickens in their backyards. People currently harboring the birds have until Oct. 1 to find new homes.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder and GVSU's Matt McLogan analyze Tuesday night's primary election results. 1. Governor's race. What's it all mean? Did voters send a clear message with support for Rick Snyder or was it just good strategy dividing up the GOP base between Hoekstra and Cox? Snyder stunned observers by carrying most of the state outside the counties (see map) in Pete Hoekstra's Congressional district and a few scattered in other places. 2. The Congressional races. How did Bill Huizenga pull it off in the Lakeshore's sprawling 2nd district after being out-raised and out-spent? What kind of money and outside groups will be involved in the fall race between Justin Amash and Patrick Miles Jr.? 3. Local Senate and state House races. Results in the Grand Rapids-based 29th District set up a good general election battle between Republican Dave Hildenbrand and Democrat David LaGrand. Also, analysis of the 72nd, 75th and 86th state House races.

Is Virg Bernero pulling ahead in the Democratic race for governor? On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder and GVSU's Matt McLogan discuss that race, analyze Congressional and state legislative races and voter turnout projections. Governor's race Polls show Democratic Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has overcome and is leading House Speaker Andy Dillon in myriad parts of the state. How is his populist message resonating? On the Republican side, Attorney General Mike Cox took more hits from the Manoogian Mansion-stripper story that won't go away, but his support remains strong. Meanwhile, Rick Snyder may be surging in other polls. Other races: Analysis and some predictions in 2nd and 3rd Congressional, 29th and 30th state Senate and state House districts: 72, 73, 75, 77, 86 and 89. Voter turnout The Secretary of State's office projects 1.7 million people will vote Tuesday, which would be about 23 percent. That's based on absentee ballot returns and p

New polls in the governor's race, Club for Growth attack ads and voter turnout are the topics on this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast with Jeff Cranson, political editor at the Grand Rapids Press and Matt McLogan, vice president of university relations for Grand Valley State University.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, recorded in a quieter setting, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss whether people pining for Ronald Reagan truly understand how he governed, campaign finance lawsuits, new developments in the race for governor of Michigan, and what it means for Gov. Granholm that President Obama is making a stop in Holland:

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press politics editor Jeff Cranson and editorial page editor Ed Golder talk about money in the governor's race, a case before the state Supreme Court concerning allegations of Meijer secretly promoting the recall of township officials near Traverse City, and Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Weaver bolting the GOP.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss the changing face of the Michigan governor's race, a flurry of endorsements for Grand Rapids-area Congressional candidates, a lawsuit challenging Michigan's campaign finance limits and the patriotism of buying American.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk about changing poll numbers in the governor's race and the Democratic debate in Grand Rapids, developments in the 3rd Congressional campaigns, and controversy surrounding film tax credits for the Grand Rapids Hangar42 project. Conversation starters: • Ed on Asian carp making it past the barrier • Jeff on pro-life and pro-choice groups finding common ground in New York as an organization seeks to make adoption a subject at abortion clinics.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk about the Michigan Truth Squad, the Michigan governors race and the challenges in remaking the nation's energy policy. Links to topics discussed: • Michigan Truth Squad • A new poll in Michigan's gubernatorial race, and the campaigns feature few promises. • President Obama's Oval Office address on the Gulf spill provokes more energy policy discussion. Jay Hakes, director of the Jimmy Carter Library and former head of the federal Energy Information Office, laid it out in his 2008 book, A Declaration of Energy Independence. Conversation starters: • Ed on the Saville report on Bloody Sunday. • Jeff on the nuclear option to cap the big hole in the bottom of the Gulf.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk about: Big endorsements in the governor's race: Attorney General Mike Cox picks up the support of Grand Rapids GOP powers Dick and Betsy DeVos, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and possibly Right To Life of Michigan Thursday. Is it quid pro quo with the Chamber and RTL because the DeVoses donate generously to both groups? The Chamber's PACs are building a fund balance to fight a Constitutional Convention proposal on the fall ballot and to protect Justice Robert Young. The DeVos decision to back Cox also may hearken to the Engler-Betsy DeVos divide as U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, despite his West Michigan home and Fox News persona, would be perceived as likely to govern more like Engler than an uncompromising ideologue. Voter frustration: In 1994, the last time the anger meter was pegged this high, Republicans seized control of the U.S. House after a 40-year Democratic reign. Two years before, with s

On this week's delayed version of the Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss Thursday's sometimes raucous governor's debate; President George W. Bush's speech in Grand Rapids; and what we can learn from the perfect game that wasn't.

In a special brief edition of the Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss President George W. Bush's speech to the Grand Rapids Economic Club Wednesday evening. The former president, relaxed and seemingly at peace, struck a very human, at times somewhat conciliatory tone as he discussed his most agonizing decisions in office.

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics Podcast, Matt McLogan -- GVSU vice president of university relations -- joins Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder to discuss: 1. Post-partisanship, a fading ideal. President Obama draws harsh criticism after a meeting with GOP senators Tuesday -- one of whom says the president used them as "props." And a poll: "Anti-incumbent sentiment is as strong as it was in 1994, when the GOP swept the Democrats from power on Capitol Hill, but according to a new national poll, Americans may not be desperate for change in Congress. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday indicates that 47 percent of the public is more likely to vote for a challenger rather than an incumbent running for re-election at the federal, statewide, or local level, with 30 percent saying they are more likely to back the incumbent." 2. Governor's race The debate that wasn't. Speculation remains that U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra maintains a lead in the GOP primary but Attorney Gen

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss: 1. What do Tuesday's results in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas mean? Is Obama's help a welcome thing for candidates? And will the Tea Party continue to be a factor? 2. Governor's race. • How about a one-term pledge? Mike Bouchard has mentioned it; Joe Schwartz says it's a certainty, should he decide to run. • Mike Cox's TV assault on Pete Hoekstra may be working. Hoekstra has taken the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, meaning he will "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes." • The end of this podcast includes audio from a separate podcast posted Wednesday that features an interview with Bouchard. 3. Consolidating governments. Is it time to merge some communities? The next installment of the Grand Rapids Press 10.0 series explores the question and how others have done it successfully. Conversation starters: • Ed: If Elena Kagan is confirmed for the Supreme Court, it

On a special edition of the Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard about his gubernatorial candidacy. Among the questions and topics: One term? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is doing all the things he promised in an effort to close his state's $10 billion budget gap, which means his popularity is sagging. If Michigan's next governor does the things that need to be done, Bouchard has said it would be tough to be re-elected. Polls: Bouchard continues to run fourth in the polls, despite some statewide name ID from previous elections. What's the strategy and when does he fully join the air wars ? Tea Party: "We have far too much government," Bouchard says. Anti-incumbent mood: Is his past legislative experience helpful politically or something to de-emphasize?

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss: 1. Candidate filing day suggests there will be blood in the race for governor. Among the topics in the governor's race: • Republican Attorney General Mike Cox's TV ads attacking U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and the timing with Americans for Job Security ads, which also go after Hoekstra. • And what of a supporter of GOP candidate Rick Snyder demanding that Cox remove his image from the ad? • Hoekstra, and Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon, come up as most winnable in surveys of Lansing insiders. • Is Snyder's decision not to fill out any interest group's surveys an example of principle turning into strategy? 2. Other filings. Two important races for Congress in West Michigan with a broad field in both the Grand Rapids-based 3rd district, being vacated by Vern Ehlers and a similarly large field in Hoekstra's 2nd district, which stretches along Lake Michigan from Allegan County to Benzi

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder discuss: 1. Taxes. Voters said yes across West Michigan, with wide margins in the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood. In Grand Rapids, a proposal to hike the income tax from 1.3 to 1.5 percent for residents was adopted narrowly. Our friend, Peter Bratt, crunched the numbers (PDF). The question that keeps coming up is whether this signals that the anti-tax Tea Party is not as influential as believed or whether the movement is focused on nameless, faceless bureaucrats in D.C. and Lansing and is not a factor in voters' decisions on local issues. 2. Governor's race Republican candidate Peter Hoekstra continues to lead in polls, but was it a good move to seek the endorsement of Rick Santorum, a former Penn. U.S. Senator? Santorum had other stops in Michigan, including an endorsement for 2nd Congressional candidate Jay Riemersma. The social and fiscal conservative was ousted in the 2006 Democratic

On this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk about a new poll that shows U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra hanging on to a lead among Republicans running for governor; questions over whether voter unhappiness spells good news for Republicans in November; and concerns about legacy costs and how they shape voter views ahead of key tax votes Tuesday. 1. Governor's race. New poll shows Hoekstra still leading Republicans. And Rasmussen reports that 41 percent of all voters prefer a Republican gubernatorial candidate, 36 percent favor a Democrat, 5 percent prefer some other party and 18 percent are undecided. Hoekstra also picked up an endorsement from likely 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney Wednesday, a return of the favor since Hoekstra supported Romney in 2008. Among Democrats, House Speaker Andy Dillon turned in 30,000 petitions Wednesday, assuring his spot on the ballot. Also, Lansing mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Virg Be

In this week's Talking Michigan Politics podcast, press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder talk about the race for governor and Michigan's lack of disclosure in campaign finance law; a poll that shows that most Tea Party faithful are doing fine financially; and the money in the Grand Rapids Congressional race: 1. Governor's race Attorney General and GOP candidate for governor Mike Cox charged a shadow group's radio ad attacking Cox's role in investigating an alleged party at the Manoogian Mansion was engineered by Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, his rival in the governor's race. "Wasn't us," say Snyder aides. Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial candidates squared off in Detroit Sunday with House Speaker Andy Dillon, leader in the polls, looking to burnish his labor cred. What would Republicans have to do to blow the governor's race in 2010? 2. Who's in the Tea Party? A new poll yields detailed demographic findings on people attending Tea Party rallies. It is dominated by white, middle class males, t

Join Grand Rapids Press editors Jeff Cranson and Ed Golder for this week's Talking Michigan Politics. Topics include: 1. The race for governor Last week's poll (PDF), that found U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, hanging on to a lead in the GOP primary. Is Hoekstra's solid support in Republican-rich West Michigan enough to propel him to victory in the primary? Does the Manoogian mansion civil case and innuendo continue to dog Attorney General Mike Cox, another GOP candidate? As Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard continues to lag in GOP polls, does he consider a run for Congress instead? 2. Congressional races. What's going on in the Grand Rapids-based 3rd district? Democrat Pat Miles issued a press release ahead of Thursday's campaign finance report filing deadline, saying he has raised $100,000. Republican candidate and state Rep. Justin Amash of Cascade Township talks to Grand Rapids-area business leaders at a breakfast event hosted by Amway President Doug DeVos. And what of the Tea Par