Michigan midterm voters cite costs, government spending, culture wars and Trump

Michigan voters are deciding the state’s next governor, a critical US Senate seat and several other races
More than 2.5 million people had submitted absentee ballots or early voted, with more arriving at the polls
The US Senate race, affordability, healthcare and bigotry were cited as top concerns

From Ontonagon to Owosso, Kalamazoo to Kalkaska, Houghton to Hillsdale and everywhere in between — Michigan voters are casting ballots this Election Day, citing affordability, healthcare, racism, control of the US Senate and their civic duty to participate in democracy.

As of Tuesday afternoon more than 2.5 million people had either mailed or dropped off absentee ballots, or voted early. An additional 5,728 voters had registered on Election Day as of 3 p.m. In all, there were more than 7.4 million active registered voters in the state.

Their votes will decide the state’s next governor, attorney general, secretary of state, all 148 seats in the state Legislature, a critical US Senate seat, 13 Congressional districts seats and two Michigan Supreme Court justices. Voters will also decide a pair of statewide ballot proposals and settle dozens of local school board contests and millages.

Any Michigan resident who is also a US citizen over 18 and not serving a jail or prison sentence is able to register to vote at their local clerk’s office until 8 p.m. on Election Day so long as they show proof of residency like a driver’s license or utility bill. They will be able to vote during the same visit.

A woman cheers in a parking lot — ‘I vote in every election because my great-grandmother couldn’t,’ said Donna Kaczmar, 57, of Warren, who’s retired but works part-time as a bartender. ‘As a woman, that’s why I vote. I do it for my great-grandmother.’ (Kim Kozlowski/Bridge Michigan)

Polling locations, ballot drop-off sites and registration details are available at the state’s voter information website michigan.gov/vote.

Voting appeared largely uneventful, though Michigan Department of State spokesperson Angela Benander said her office had received reports that US Department of Justice monitors were “doing things outside of their legal scope” in Flint and Dearborn by asking poll workers about their training.

Party lines and split tickets

Bridge Michigan spoke with dozens of people who showed up to the polls Tuesday.

In Charlotte, Amanda Hazen, 35, said she came out to vote for candidates who would fight for “less government spending.” She backed all Republicans at the top of the ticket.

Rising costs helped motivate Ray Miles, 36, of Warren, to vote for a straight Democratic ticket. “I tend to tune in when things are affecting me directly,” said Miles. “And the only thing I think is affecting me directly is the stuff going on with the gas prices and food.”

Several voters, like Jesus Villa of Traverse City, split their tickets. Villa, a 34-year-old architect born in Mexico, voted in his first general election after becoming a US citizen.

side-by-side images of Abdul El-Sayed on left and Mike Rogers on right. El-Sayed smiles while standing in front of a sign with part of his first name visible. Rogers gestures while standing in a media scrum in front of cameras. — Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, left, speaks during a campaign rally at the Majestic Theatre, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Detroit. Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, right, speaks to the media after voting, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in White Lake. (AP Photos/Julia Demaree Nikhinson and Paul Sancya)

A new homeowner, Villa said he was particularly concerned about property taxes and affordability. He split his ballot, voting for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for Senate and Republican John James for governor.

“It’s well known that he’s a Muslim, so he doesn’t have a loyalty to Israel,” Villa said of El-Sayed, telling Bridge he was concerned about US support for Israel and the war in Iran.

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As for James, his background as a businessman is appealing, Villa said.

“My thinking is that the government has to be managed or controlled as a business,” he said.

Sterling Heights nurse Denise Moore, 48, said in the 10th Congressional District race she voted for Democrat Christina Hines because “she’s a woman” and she wants to protect her daughters’ reproductive rights.

Moore said she voted for Benson for governor because she believes the Democrats will better address health issues, but didn’t vote for El-Sayed, who directed Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services.

Fear of bigotry

Austin Haynes of Mason said he voted straight-ticket Republican, motivated by his Christian religious views, opposition to policies supporting transgender youth in schools, skepticism about Muslim people in elected office and support for Republican immigration policies.

“We believe in a small government, limited. They work for us. They serve us, and then they get the hell out of our way,” Haynes said.

Ashley Krahe, 20, a full time student, cast her ballot at a polling place on the east side of Lansing on Tuesday morning. She said she voted for the Democratic candidates on the ballot.

“Quite simply, I believe in equal rights and rights for immigrants and rights for the LGBTQ community and women’s rights,” she said. “And just equality in general.”

Lauren Slutsky, 55, described herself as a lifelong Jewish Democratic who is voting for the Republican US Senate candidate because El-Sayed “hasn’t proven that he will stand against antisemitism and hate.”

At the same polling place in Huntington Woods, Steve Gold stood wearing a “Jews for Abdul” shirt, carrying a sign that likened President Trump to Adolf Hitler. A former county health officer, Gold said “it’s shameful that the United States has not provided healthcare to everybody after 250 years,” supporting El-Sayed’s vision for Medicare for All.

Sterling Heights resident Antonio Asmar, 49, said he voted for Republican Mike Rogers for US Senate because he’s “been a Michigander for a long time.”

Asmar, a first-generation Chaldean American whose family moved here from northern Iraq, expressed concern about El Sayed’s politics. “My dad left where he was from to get away from a socialist, communist type government — big government. So I just see that’s how (El-Sayed) is, and I’m turned off by that.”

Manton voter Jerrilyn Mathews, a retiree, chose El-Sayed, saying she was motivated to vote for “anything against Trump.” Mathews is a former Republican who left the party over Trump, whom she never voted for.

Jack Morean, a 19 year-old Michigan State University student from Grand Rapids, voted in his first general election Tuesday morning at an on-campus precinct in East Lansing.

Morean said he voted for Democrats up and down his ballot. “We’re in a time where divisiveness is very apparent,” he said. “Our current government is honestly abhorrent. I’m here to vote for change.”