Democrats Are Losing Their Grip on Michigan

Does This Offer an Opening for Kennedy?

By Sanna Hannele Voltti, The Kennedy Beacon

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is already on the ballot in Utah and New Hampshire, and African American voters in Michigan are eager to be next to get his name on their state ballot, even if this means trudging through five feet of snow. 

To get on the ballot, Michigan requires Kennedy to get a staggering 30,000 valid petition signatures, according to Ballot Access News, with at least 100 signatures coming from each of the state’s 13 congressional districts. The petition must be filed with Michigan’s secretary of state by 4 p.m. on the 110th day prior to the general election, which in this case is July 18, 2024.

Democratic Party Struggling in Michigan

The Kennedy Beacon spoke with a “born-and-bred” Michiganite named Cynthia Haynes, owner of a small cleaning business, who is now working the grassroots for Kennedy, especially among the Black community. “No Democrat in Michigan can get a seat without the Black vote,” she told the Beacon. 

Haynes, who lives in Flint, Michigan, noted that a lot of people are switching their party affiliation in the state. “Many young people are turning Republicans or independents because they want to be business owners,” she said. “A lot of Black women, I’ll say over 55 and up, are still gonna vote for Biden,” she continued. But as for those her age and younger, “we’re more now Republicans and independents.” 

Sign in Haynes’ front yard. She hopes to see more Kennedy signs in Michigan. 

As of now, Donald Trump has a strong grip on the state. He is leading President Joe Biden by 10 points in most polls. Traditionally, Michigan has been a Democratic state. According to the Pew Research Center, 47% of Michigan voters are registered as Democrats, 34% as Republicans, and 19% as independents. 

Nevertheless, Haynes said, Kennedy is popular among white conservatives in Michigan, and “the Arabic community I’ve talked to said they’re going independent. It’s either Kennedy or Trump, but they are not sure.”

Democrats’ struggle in Michigan has not gone unnoticed. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “Biden Has a Michigan Problem.” The story referred to recent bad poll numbers that are putting Democrats in the state on high alert. Biden is working to strengthen his support, particularly among the state’s auto workers. On January 24, he addressed a United Auto Workers conference and the union endorsed his reelection bid. 

A statewide poll commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV had Biden eight points behind Trump in early January. Another poll, released in December 2023 by CNN, also favored Trump, 50% to 40%. Considering that Michigan’s governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, was reelected in 2022 with over 54% support, these numbers look extra-worrisome for Democrats. 

Michigan political expert Vincent Hutchings said in a recent Michigan Minds podcast that this election season is not going to be normal. “The Republican Party is in a peculiar place,” he observed. “There are really two issues: one is about their election strategy – their prospects for victory in November of 2024. The other is about where they stand with respect to democracy.… 2024 is not going to be a normal presidential contest because the leading candidate,” Hutchings said, referring to Trump, “has essentially renounced the concept of democracy.” 

These factors considered, Kennedy has a good chance of collecting the signatures needed and getting on the ballot in Michigan. 

Cynthia Haynes on the left. 

Hoping That Kennedy Will Visit Her Community in Michigan

Haynes hopes that Kennedy will spend more time in Michigan, particularly when Democrats are clearly struggling there, giving him an opening to build momentum. She hopes he will address the Black population of Michigan directly. 

Haynes has met Kennedy, is very impressed by his politics, and is trying hard to convey his message to other people. “I looked into his eyes and I felt his spirit. But the Black community is on edge. They want to know more about how Kennedy feels about immigration and the ‘Wokeanon.’ So he should spend a whole weekend in Michigan, not just one day.” 

Haynes has noticed that the Democratic Party doesn’t want Kennedy campaigning in Michigan, because they really need the state for Biden. “I’m not gonna say all Democrats are dirty, but this new group of Democrats is,” she told the Beacon. “I’m worried about Kennedy coming here,” she added. “I was literally told to be careful.” 

The Democrats are “really boycotting and bashing him, especially about COVID, but a lot of people in Michigan agree with Kennedy,” she continued, and many are coming up to her to talk about the issue. She mentioned a woman on a school board in Flint who wanted to speak with Kennedy about a heart problem her son had after the COVID-19 shots. She was advised not to. “That’s how bad they’re boycotting Kennedy here. Democrats are playing dirty in this election. It is horrible.”

The people of Michigan share the same major concerns expressed in other states: immigration, inflation, the never-ending wars, and education. Haynes remarked they “want [a] child, at the age of five, to come home and say, ‘Mom, I want to be a boy today and a girl tomorrow.’” Children in the community already have enough to worry about, Hayes continued, for instance being “homeless, or having one or two parents incarcerated.” She also noted that the Black community appreciates Kennedy’s support for communities devastated by Jim Crow laws: “We want our communities and businesses being built back up.” 

Michigan has always been a battleground state, and in 2024 the battle is going to be intense. Haynes reiterates her wish that Kennedy would come to Michigan and meet the people, not just in the cities but also in “the small communities, like Saginaw, Benton Harbor, and Kalamazoo.”