Michigan Elections News

National, State & Local Elections News, Polls & Video

ATLANTA - Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss won re-election Tuesday in a runoff, dashing Democrats' hopes of capturing enough seats in the U.S. Senate to thwart Republican filibusters to block votes on legislation.

Chambliss' win to a second term gives the Republicans a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington. The monthlong runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin captured the national limelight, drawing political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooding the airwaves with fresh attack ads.

Continue reading "Republican wins US Senate runoff in Georgia" »

U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra will not seek re-election in 2010, according to a Lansing news service.

MIRS, an online Capitol newsletter, reports Hoekstra will soon form an exploratory committee for a gubernatorial campaign, the result of a trial balloon floating for months.

Officially, Hoekstra has not committed and MIRS did not cite any sources. But the conjecture has merit based on comments from Holland Sen. Wayne Kuipers, who will most certainly seek Hoekstra's seat.

Continue reading "Hoekstra will announce he's not running for Congress before he commits to governor's race" »

CHICAGO – When Sen. Hillary Clinton joins President-elect Barack Obama in Chicago today for the rollout of his foreign policy team, with her as secretary of State, it will mark the latest evolution in a fast-changing relationship that began just four years ago, when she was the junior senator from New York and former first lady and he was an Illinois state senator on his way up. Obama has since moved past her and to the top. But those who have observed the pair over the years aren't surprised that the two Ivy-league educated lawyers are taking their relationship to the next political level. "I think that the people around each disliked the other candidate more than they ever disliked each other," a Democrat who has closely observed their relationship over the years wrote in an email Sunday. "If you look at the reporting around the VP process, Obama often asked his team, 'should we take another look at Hillary?' Continue reading "Evolution of the Obama-Clinton connection" »

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush says history will judge him, but he is getting his own crack first. Bush is using his final 50 days in office to tout his legacy, hoping to leave a lasting impression of overshadowed progress. On Monday, World AIDS Day, Bush was heralded for his leadership in fighting the disease, a point that even his Democratic critics readily concede.

The anti-AIDS program Bush championed in 2003 has delivered lifesaving medicine to more than 2 million people in five years, up from 50,000 people before it began. Many of those helped live in impoverished sub-Saharan Africa, where AIDS is the leading killer.

Continue reading "Bush uses final 50 days in office to tout legacy" »

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin urged Georgia voters to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Tuesday's runoff in an election eve appeal that underscored her popularity within the Republican Party and the GOP's efforts to stave off erosion of its shrinking Senate numbers.

"Losing an election doesn't mean we have lost our way," the former vice presidential candidate told a cheering crowd of 2,500 on Monday in the central Georgia town of Perry. "If we are to lead again, we have lots of hard work ahead of us. Let it begin here tomorrow in Georgia."

Continue reading "Palin implores Ga. Republicans to back Chambliss" »

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama announced Monday that Robert Gates would remain as defense secretary, making President Bush's Pentagon chief his own as he seeks to wind down the U.S. role in Iraq. Obama picked former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

At a news conference, Obama also introduced retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security.

The announcements rounded out the top tier of the team that will advise the incoming chief executive on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe.

Continue reading "President-Elect Obama names Clinton, Gates to 'Team of Rivals'" »

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama plans to announce longtime advisers and political foes alike as his picks for top administration jobs at a Monday news conference, nominating one-time political nemesis Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

Obama's announcements include members of his national security team and beyond, completing the nominations for one-third of his Cabinet as he moves quickly to assemble the country's new leadership in times of war and a troubled economy.

Continue reading "Obama to name four more Cabinet posts" »

ATLANTA -- Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss enlisted Sarah Palin to rally conservatives while Democratic challenger Jim Martin pushed to activate black voters, as they grappled for advantage in a Tuesday runoff that will shape Democrats' hold on power in Washington.

Palin, the Alaska governor who was John McCain's vice presidential running mate, was to arrive in Georgia for a private fundraiser Sunday night, followed by rallies across the state Monday. McCain carried the state with 52 percent of the vote on Nov. 4.

Continue reading "Palin to campaign for Sen. Chambliss" »

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The president-elect won't be there, but an Obama buzz will crackle through the conference hall when negotiators gather Monday for a final push toward a sweeping new global warming treaty.

"America is back," says Sen. John Kerry, underscoring that Barack Obama's election signals a U.S. intent to regain a leadership role on climate change.

Continue reading "Obama buzz felt at global climate talks" »

President-elect Barack Obama planned to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state on Monday, transforming a once-bitter political rivalry into a high-level strategic and diplomatic partnership.

Obama will name the New York senator to his national security team at a news conference in Chicago, Democratic officials said Saturday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

To clear the way for his wife to take the job, former President Bill Clinton agreed to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation. He'll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding C.G.I. meetings overseas.

Continue reading "Obama to nominate Clinton secretary of state Monday" »

WASHINGTON — An adviser to Barack Obama's presidential campaign who was forced to resign earlier this year after calling Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a "monster" is now working on the transition team for the agency Clinton is expected to lead.

State Department officials said Friday that Samantha Power is among a group of foreign policy experts that the president-elect's office selected to help the incoming administration prepare for Clinton's anticipated nomination as secretary of state. The Obama transition team's Web site includes Power's name as one of 14 members of the "Agency Review Team" for the State Department.

Clinton's role at State is expected to be announced after the Thanksgiving weekend. Power's apparent rehabilitation is another sign of that impending move.

Clinton's office declined to comment on Power's inclusion in the State Department transition, but an official close to the Obama transition team said Power had "made a gesture to bury the hatchet" with Clinton and that it had been well-received.

Continue reading "Barack Obama adviser who dissed Hillary Clinton returns to help in transition at State Department" »

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Pennsylvania Democratic party leader says MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews may be considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2010.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports Matthews met with state party leaders this past week in Washington to discuss a possible bid to unseat Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.

Party official Mary Isenhour says she left the meeting feeling that Matthews still hadn't made up his mind.

UPDATE: The electoral projections Web site fivethirtyeight.com received a flat denial from Matthews.

Continue reading "Pennsylvania Democratic Party official says MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews may seek Arlen Specter's Senate seat" »

... and why few people will miss him.

SKD Automotive, the biggest employer in Jonesville, recently announced it was laying off 300. Unfortunately for the workers, this took place after U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) was pink-slipped by voters in the 7th District, who went instead with Sen. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek).

Here was his statement to the bad news in full:

Continue reading "Why Tim Walberg lost ..." »

Here's the bad news: There are no easy answers to solve the state's looming $400 million shortfall.

But the good news is, there's an obvious way to slay the much-maligned Michigan Business Tax surcharge. The Legislature rushed this 19.99 percent levy on top of the new MBT late last year in the frenzy to dump the service tax, which was deemed even worse.

The surcharge is now the bane of business owners' existence, with 9 percent telling the Michigan Chamber of Commerce they're considering leaving the state over it.

Continue reading "How to kill a business tax" »

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota's U.S. Senate showdown is veering down a path toward the courts and possibly the Senate itself after a panel's ruling on rejected absentee ballots dealt a blow to Democrat Al Franken's chances.

For the first time, his campaign on Wednesday openly discussed mounting challenges after the hand recount involving Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman concludes. That includes the possibility of drawing the Senate into the fracas.

Continue reading "After absentee ballot loss, Franken eyes options" »