Politics

Michigan Republican congressman Fred Upton says he will seek re-election to his Sixth Congressional District seat. In announcing his re-election bid, Upton says there is “unfinished” business that has to be completed, including fighting the opioid epidemic and immigration reform. The 66-year-old Upton Upton was being watched closely as a potential House retiree as Republicans struggle to try regaining the …

Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, a moderate Republican, says he will vote against impeaching President Donald Trump. Upton, top Democratic target in 2020, issued a written statement Thursday calling the impeachment process “highly partisan and clearly motivated by what I believe is an attempt to overturn the last election.” He says the time to vote on Trump is next November, not …

Republican Rep. Fred Upton has easily won reelection to his southwest Michigan House seat for more than 30 years by touting his “common-sense values” and bipartisan accomplishments. But then came the hyperpolarized politics of the Donald Trump era. Now no one, including Upton, really knows what the future holds for him heading into the 2020 election. With the impeachment storm …

A Republican congressman from Michigan says he doesn’t support an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. But he has no problem with Democratic-led committees digging for more information. Rep. Fred Upton told the Detroit Economic Club that “we need to know what the answers are.” He shared the stage Wednesday with Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell. Upton is the latest Republican …

A top Democratic lawmaker says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase is dead, and proposals such as raising the corporate income tax and taxing heavy trucks must be in the mix. House Minority Leader Christine Greig said Thursday that with majority Republicans vehemently opposing the 45-cent plan, there are alternative ways to raise revenue without having to increase …

Michigan voters are free to take a picture of their ballot before they leave a voting booth. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has settled a 2016 lawsuit that challenged a ban on so-called ballot selfies. The ban on displaying completed ballots has been around since 1891. Benson’s office and Joel Crookston, a voter in the Kalamazoo area, reached a deal …

Democratic state Rep. Jon Hoadley is launching a campaign to unseat longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan. Hoadley, who announced his run Monday, has represented the Kalamazoo area since 2015. He says he’s tired of “watching those with so much tell the rest of us that we haven’t earned anything at all.” Upton has been in Congress for …

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has agreed to settle a lawsuit over a ban on so-called ballot selfies. Joel Crookston, a voter in the Kalamazoo area, sued in 2016 to try to stop Michigan’s ban on taking photos of marked ballots or publicly exposing them. Lawyers won’t talk about the deal until details are filed in federal court on May …

No-reason mail-in voting has launched in Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced today, explaining it will make voting easier for people across the state. “If you want to fill out your ballot at home, you should be able to do so. And if you want to avoid the stress of finding time to get to the polls on Election …

State Rep. Aaron Miller has been appointed to a key role in helping determine the policy priorities of Michigan House Republicans for the 2019-20 session. Miller was appointed chair of the Policy Action Plan Committee by Speaker-elect Lee Chatfield. The temporary panel will help collect policy ideas toward building the House Republican action plan for the next two years. Miller …