{"id":71360,"date":"2026-01-08T16:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T21:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=71360"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:12:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:12:34","slug":"bridge-michigan-is-listening-what-issues-matter-most-to-you-in-2026-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/bridge-michigan-is-listening-what-issues-matter-most-to-you-in-2026-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridge Michigan is listening. What issues matter most to you in 2026 election?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bridge plans rigorous fact-based campaign coverage before the 2026 elections<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Readers can help shape the coverage by letting us know their top concerns<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>We\u2019ll use that feedback to press candidates for answers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s barely January, and the political rhetoric is already flying, even though the 2026 general election is nearly 300 days away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between now and Nov. 3, Michigan voters will hear a steady stream of promises from candidates for governor, US Senate, US House, the state Legislature and other offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bridge Michigan is committed to covering those races with its signature brand of nonpartisan, fact-based reporting. We begin today, as we traditionally do in election years, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/here-are-facts-shaping-michigan-as-state-gears-for-big-election-year\/\">fact guide<\/a> that grounds the campaign season in a shared set of facts about the state of Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year, we also want to be intentional about listening to you \u2014 and putting voters\u2019 priorities at the center of our coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/here-are-facts-shaping-michigan-as-state-gears-for-big-election-year\/\"><strong>Here are facts shaping Michigan as state gears for big election year<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/michigan-faces-a-huge-election-year-these-are-the-2026-races-to-watch\/\"><strong>Michigan faces a huge election year: These are the races to watch in 2026<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/whos-running-michigan-governor-former-house-speaker-tom-leonard-jumps\/\"><strong>Who\u2019s running for Michigan governor<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/michigans-toss-up-us-senate-race-draws-donors-from-other-states\/\"><strong>Michigan\u2019s \u2018toss up\u2019 US Senate race draws donors from other states<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re launching a yearlong listening effort to identify what you believe are Michigan\u2019s most important issues<strong>, <\/strong>and we\u2019ll use that feedback to help shape our reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not a scientific poll. It\u2019s the start of a dialogue, beginning with <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSdOHxDcujY5qm-2YMk3Th0nXHP0xQwdt4g013IFglK7gPMRKQ\/viewform?usp=dialog\">this short survey.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through March, we\u2019ll collect responses to get a sense of the top issues in Michigan, then spend ensuing months exploring them in <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/\">articles<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/signup\/\">newsletters<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bridge.michigan\/?hl=en\">social media<\/a>, reader events and online forums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Aug. 4 primaries approach, you\u2019ll help us refine the list, and we\u2019ll press candidates to address the topics readers identify as most important before Bridge hosts an in-person convening about issues in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned for those details, as well as other new features to boost what already promises to be rigorous coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll share what we learn along the way and explain how it informs our coverage, alongside the fact checks, accountability reporting, campaign finance investigations, daily news and resources you\u2019ve come to expect from Bridge Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks so much. We can\u2019t wait to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Campaign rhetoric is flying. But what\u2019s most important to you? Bridge wants to hear from Michigan residents to help shape our campaign coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1414,"featured_media":71361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-01-08T21:18:16Z","apple_news_api_id":"da841025-bde9-4abd-af86-9fc1ffc12b53","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-01-09T16:12:39Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2oQQJb3pSr2vhp_B_8ErUw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2445,2455],"tags":[4438],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2472,2476],"class_list":["post-71360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michigan-government","category-center-michigan","tag-2026-michigan-election","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bridge Michigan is listening. 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