Michigan elections FAQ video: Races to watch, debates, donors and more

• Bridge Michigan is answering reader questions through a new Elections FAQ series, including a new weekly video feature
• In inaugural episode, politics reporters Lauren Gibbons and Jordyn Hermani identify most interesting state House races
• Reporters also answer questions on U.S. Senate debates, campaign finance reports and partisan leanings of judicial candidates

Lights. Camera. Elections. 

Bridge Michigan on Thursday launched a new weekly video show as part of our Elections FAQ series that aims to engage voters in the 2024 election cycle by answering reader questions. 

Ask your own question here, and watch the first episode below:

In this week’s show:

• Senate debates: Responding to a reader question, reporter Lauren Gibbons explained why top contenders for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat bowed out of a debate that had been planned for last week’s Mackinac Policy conference.

“It was also disappointing to me,” she said. 

• Top races: A reader asked Bridge to identify the five to 10 most competitive races that will decide control of the MIchigan House this fall. Bridge plans more reporting on this question, but for now, Lauren and fellow politics reporter Jordyn Hermani each identified what they consider the most interesting race. 

Spoiler alert: Think downriver and Traverse City.

• Campaign finance: Jordyn recapped her recent reader explainer on how to research campaign contributions and personal financial disclosure reports. Do the state and federal government make it easy? 

“The short answer is: Kind of,” she said. 

• Judicial politics: Two readers asked how to research the political leanings of judicial candidates. As Lauren explained, it’s not always easy. Judicial races are technically non-partisan, and candidates seem to like it that way. But when it comes to the biggest judicial races in the state — for seats on the Michigan Supreme Court — candidates make it on the ballot through nominations by the major political parties.

At the local level, “it's admittedly a little bit more difficult,” she said. 

Bridge will be back next week with another Elections FAQ show, and we’ll also continue to answer questions through posts on our website. Ask your question here, or visit our Voter Guide for more information.