Michigan
The table below shows that there are roughly 1,069,441 democrat leaning voters (DLVs) stuck in GOP districts in Michigan. At the same time, their GOP representatives were chosen by 289,322 primary voters. In other words there are almost FOUR TIMES as many DLVs as GOP primary voters. That is strength enough to vote GOP moderates into office.
But the DLVs are voting in the wrong election!
The only election that matters in these districts in the GOP primary. That is where the district’s congressional representative is chosen. The DLVs are not part of that process. They wait to vote in the election the election whose outcome has already been determined - the general election.
lf they want to have a red say in choosing their representative, they would be registered republicans and vote in the GOP primaries. To remain a democrat and vote in the general election hoping to elect a moderate or liberal representative in the general election is an exercise in wishful thinking.
| GOP | % | DEM | GOP Primary | Dem to Primary Ratio | Last Primary | 2022 Primary* | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MI (7)(0) | |||||||||||||||
| U.S. Representatives | |||||||||||||||
| Jack Bergman | 256,644 | 62% | 154,707 | 33,632 | 4.60 | 2016 | NA | ||||||||
| Bill Huizenga | 238,711 | 61% | 154,122 | 27,041 | 5.70 | 2010 | NA | ||||||||
| Peter Meijer | 213,649 | 53% | 189,769 | 47,272 | 4.01 | 2020 | 45,094 | ||||||||
| John Moolenaar | 243,373 | 67% | 120,836 | 34,399 | 3.51 | 2014 | 66,769 | ||||||||
| Fred Upton | 211,496 | 58% | 152,085 | 53,054 | 2.87 | 2020 | 27,877 | ||||||||
| Tim Walberg | 227,524 | 59% | 159,743 | 43,120 | 3.70 | 2016 | 57,855 | ||||||||
| Lisa McClain | 271,607 | 66% | 138,179 | 50,804 | 2.72 | 2020 | 44,258 | ||||||||
| Total | 1,663,004 | 1,069,441 | 289,322 | ||||||||||||
The additional benefit of registering republican in these districts is that in statewide primaries such as those for the U.S. Senate, the Governorship, the Michigan Secretary of State, and the U.S. Presidency the one million plus democratic voters stuck in GOP districts could ensure that moderates win in the primaries (vs. Trump or Trump-like candidates). Roughly 1 million GOP voters have often voted in the GOP statewide primaries, with the winning GOP candidate rarely winning more than 600,000 votes.
Disenfranchised moderate votes in GOP districts who are/were independents or democrats could help ensure that a far right candidate like Trump is not the GOP nominee.
Vote the Issues, Not the Party!
If you are an issue voter, and intend to lend support to the efforts underway to address climate change, a woman’s right to choose, or voters rights, electing GOP representatives in the safe GOP districts is a pragmatic strategy. Nationwide, there could be causus of GOP representatives who owed part of their primary victory to moderates who believe strongly in those issues. And those representatives could support ground-breaking bi-partisan legislation to address these and other pressing issues.