LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan is one of the battleground states that will decide the 2024 presidential election. This comes with plenty of polls, a potential wire-to-wire finish, and a lot of political visits.
Vice President Harris and former President Trump have both been frequenting the Great Lakes State as of late.
Kyle Melinn, the editor of the Lansing political journal MIRS, says individual candidates can “create” swing states
“These visits have really ramped up since Donald Trump has become the nominee here in Michigan, um Donald Trump has made Michigan a swing state…” said Melinn. He referenced 2012, when Michigan was decidedly blue, as an example of Michigan’s pre-Donald-Trump status.
Just how much campaign money gets spent in battlegrounds like Michigan? Melinn says it’s a lot.
“Just in the U.S. Senate race alone, there’s been at least 90 million dollars from each campaign…” said Melinn “You can imagine that the amount spent on the presidential race is even more than that.”
However, do swing states receive special treatment from federal agencies besides extra candidate appearances hoping to gather votes for their party?
6 News asked this question to the United States Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Basil Gooden, who was in Lansing Wednesday meeting with local partners. He says there’s no political agenda behind the USDA’s visit.
“I’m here to really focus on the work that’s being done in the communities, and how we can really be better partners, and collaborate more with the people here in Michigan,” Gooden says.
However, Melinn isn’t sure he buys that.
“I just covered a press conference here a month or two ago here where we had the Naval Secretary here announcing that the city of Lansing is gonna have a ship named after them, um yea it could all be coincidental, uh but in an election year it’s hard to believe that it is.”
Melinn says at this point, the parties aren’t necessarily swaying voters, but instead are trying to convince people to vote.
