Hey friends, Jer here.
I don't always talk about politics with you, but Michigan is a swing state and election day is tomorrow. So today's edition is in more of an editorial format instead of a rundown of stories.
We'll talk about the race in Michigan a bit, then a new entertainment development coming to downtown Detroit.
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Why I predict Kamala Harris and Elissa Slotkin will win Michigan
Respectfully, I think that some of the media is missing an important story about Michigan.
There have been a ton of pixels spent on the Muslim community and the Black Male constituencies here, between the Gaza issue and the right-drift that's happening over social issues.
For this election, I think that view misses the forest for the trees.
Not that their issues aren't important. But the far bigger group when it comes to votes are women. And as my podcast colleague Steve Friess has pointed out, all of the issues tied to reproductive freedom and the demolition of Roe v. Wade are still front of mind.
To me, it's difficult to make the jump between Governor Gretchen Whitmer defeating a Trumpist candidate by more than 10 points just two years ago — plus the victories of a Democratic, woman, Secretary of State and a Democratic, woman, Attorney General — and deadlocked polls for 2024.
Those vibes — whether it's "Big Gretch" energy or an overall Femininomenon (apologies to Chappell Roan) just doesn't go away in two years. And that would mean good news for the bids of Vice President Harris for President and Rep. Elissa Slotkin for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Adding to this, when we look at early voter and absentee ballot return data in strongly Muslim areas, Dearborn's early voter turnout is just over 25%. Looking at cities where the mayors have endorsed Trump and appeared on stage with him, Hamtramck is at nearly 24% and Dearborn Heights nearly 26%.
That's abysmal. It's far below Detroit's 32% and far below the state of Michigan's nearly 44%.
That looks a lot more like sitting out than being fired up and engaged to vote for Trump. Plus, the number of actual votes is rather small in those communities, made smaller by not casting ballots.
Of course, I could be wrong. Take all of what everyone says, including me, with a grain of salt.
That said, on today's Daily Detroit podcast veteran political journalist Steve Friess joined me and we broke all of this down in far more detail. [Listen on Apple Podcasts] [Listen on Spotify] [Download the podcast]
"The future of sports and entertainment" is coming to downtown Detroit
That's what Dan Gilbert called Cosm in a Friday press release announcing that Bedrock plans to bring the immersive technology and entertainment venue to downtown Detroit. [Urbanize] [Bedrock PR]
Cosm will feature a giant 26.6-meter 12K+ LED dome, with a "Shared Reality" experience for events ranging from sports to to Cirque du Soleil.
Dan Gilbert's ROCK was part of a $250 million investment round to expand Cosm earlier this year. This would be the fourth location.
As part of the 1.5 million square foot development on the same block as Cosm, Bedrock says there will be a multi-level food hall with sit-down and fast-casual dining option.
I know a lot of people will be interested when this spot opens. This kind of destination spot doubles down on the future of downtown Detroit as a regional tourism draw.
But I'm left wondering where the entrance for the historic National Theatre is going. Crews carefully saved it and put it in storage in 2023, ahead of the NFL Draft.
As you can see above (thanks Historic Detroit for the highlight), this was the block and the street where that was going to be used as the entrance for a 2,000 seat performance venue that's been scrapped in favor of Cosm. The rendering today has no National Theater (below).
It'll be interesting to see where that piece of Detroit history reappears.
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Remember that you are somebody - and we'll talk real soon.
-Jer