Michigan elections FAQ: Good, bad news for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

• In new Michigan elections FAQ episode, Bridge reporters discuss the impact of another failed assassination attempt of Donald Trump
• Kamala Harris has Taylor Swift’s endorsement. Will it matter?
• New economic data shows Michiganders money is not going as far, particularly lower-educated voters that Trump is focused on

LANSING — Donald Trump survived another assassination attempt unharmed and apparently unfazed. He’lll move ahead with his planned stop in Flint on Tuesday, his campaign told Bridge Michigan reporter Simon Schuster. 

"Trump appeared in Grand Rapids, July 20, which was also his first public rally after the first assassination attempt against him in Pennsylvania," Schuster noted Monday during the latest Bridge Michigan election FAQ live show. 

Schuster joined fellow reporters Jordyn Hermani and Mike Wilkinson, along with host Isabel Lohman, to discuss the latest campaign developments – including how the second assassination attempt changes the race — and answer reader questions about the Nov. 5 general election. 

Watch the full episode here: 

Trump's town hall-style event in Flint will kick start a busy week in Michigan politics. His running mate JD Vance will be in Sparta on Tuesday, and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will join Oprah Winfrey for a livestream event in metro Detroit on Thursday.

Harris got some good news last week when pop star Taylor Swift endorsed her. As Hermani noted, Swift's social media endorsement is important for campaign attempt to reach "Gen Z and millennials" and drove roughly 300,000 people to vote.gov to find their voter registration information. 

But Harris, the current vice president, got bad news too: New U.S. Census data shows inflation and higher costs for groceries and housing have erased household income gains nationwide since the pandemic — and it’s been worse in Michigan than many other states.

"The people who were hurt the most were those with the least education," said Wilkinson, a data reporter who covered the Census numbers for Bridge.

"I think Trump has zeroed in I think specifically because of how big this group is," Wilkinson said. "... Even though inflation is down, prices are still high, and the pain is there."

Related:

• FBI: Trump was target of assassination attempt at his Florida golf club
• Tim Walz talks Midwest nice in Michigan: Don’t mistake ‘kindness for weakness’
• ACLU spending $2M on abortion rights ads in Michigan Supreme Court race

Lohman, who hosted the episode, is also a Bridge education reporter. She took time to discuss her recent reporting on Trump's proposal to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.

While Republicans have long talked about abolishing the department, she noted conservative groups are now publicizing specific plans, including proposals to shift key responsibilities away from the department, including enforcement of Title IX anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender students. 

"It's a really ripe time for people to critique the Department of Ed, not only on the Title IX stuff, but also in the FAFSA stuff," Lohman said, referencing a new federal college aid application process the federal government botched. 

"When you look at college students who were applying to college, or the families who were applying in this last cycle, it was a mess. Everything took a long time. Schools were complaining."

The reporters also answered several reader questions, including what state House incumbent they believe is most likely to lose this fall, and discussed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ongoing attempt to get his name removed from the Michigan ballot after he endorsed Trump for president.