By the time voters make their way to the polls on November 7, hundreds of millions of dollars will have been spent on campaigns, yard signs will dominate neighborhoods and advertisements will clog the radio and TV airwaves. When voters wake up on November 8, the face of Michigan politics may have drastically changed.

Starting at the top of the ticket, United States Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) is hoping for another six-year term by defeating Republican challenger Mike Bouchard, current Oakland County Sheriff. Bouchard received the Republican Party’s nomination after a long, tough primary battle with the Rev. Keith Butler.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm also seeks another term. It’s a race gaining national attention as Republican challenger Dick DeVos continues to break spending records and leverage the state’s poor economy and high unemployment rate in an attempt to unseat a popular incumbent. It appears Granholm will maintain her running mate in current Lieutenant Governor and long-time State Legislator John Cherry, while DeVos has chosen current Oakland County Clerk and former State Representative Ruth Johnson.

Rounding off the state constitutional offices, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is working diligently to earn another term from Michigan’s electorate against Grosse Pointe trial lawyer and Democratic Party nominee Amos Williams. Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land looks for four more years against Macomb County Clerk and Democratic challenger Carmella Sabaugh.

Two Michigan Supreme Court Justices and two members of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, Michigan State University Board of Trustees and Wayne State University Board of Governors are also seeking re-election in statewide races. However, beyond the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races, the majority of attention is focused on Congress and the state legislature.

All of Michigan’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives are running. As a result of the redrawing of district lines in 2000, these seats are generally only competitive if the incumbent does not run or is challenged in a primary. For example, Congressman John “Joe” Schwartz (R-Battle Creek) was defeated after only one term by former State Legislator Tim Walberg in an ugly Republican primary. No incumbents are expected to lose their seats in Congress during November’s general election.

The real excitement will be in the Michigan Legislature where all 38 seats of the state Senate and all 110 seats of the state House are up for election. As a result of term limits, six members of the state Senate and 29 members of the state House cannot seek re-election – resulting in a minimum of 35 new faces in Lansing this fall.

A lot is hanging on the balance this November – party control of both chambers of the U.S. and Michigan Legislature, the Governor’s office, the Attorney General’s office, and others. The ability of the MACPA to effectively protect and advance the integrity of the CPA designation, and advocate on behalf of the accounting profession, is based on relationships established and maintained with policy-makers in Michigan and Washington, D.C. For more information on how you can be involved, through participation in MACPA’s grassroots programs or other political activities, contact the Government Relations Department at 248.267.3700 or legislation@michcpa.org.

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