{"id":73100,"date":"2026-02-24T15:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=73100"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:25:28","slug":"whats-michigans-top-election-issue-cast-your-ballot-with-bridge-listens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/center-michigan\/whats-michigans-top-election-issue-cast-your-ballot-with-bridge-listens\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Michigan\u2019s top election issue? Cast your ballot with Bridge Listens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bridge Listens is moving on to its next phase with a ballot to define Michigan\u2019s top issue<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The first phase elicited nearly 2,800 responses from all corners of the state<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balloting continues through July\u00a0<\/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>We asked for your opinion, Michigan. And boy, did you give it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Jan. 8, nearly 2,800 readers from almost all 83 counties have participated in Bridge Listens, an unscientific survey to identify the top issues of Michigan for the 2026 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bridge Michigan is using the survey to help shape our election coverage \u2014&nbsp;and demand answers from those seeking office about solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, we launch the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSeO-AAWKSnUS8xgIKKl84xij2IGq3qE6ZTdrMZ0G7fZ1A-ySw\/viewform\">second phase of the campaign<\/a>, which seeks to pare down a list of about 30 issues to the most important ones before the Aug. 4 primary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSeO-AAWKSnUS8xgIKKl84xij2IGq3qE6ZTdrMZ0G7fZ1A-ySw\/viewform\"><strong>Vote on top issues in Michigan<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re asking readers to vote on their most important issues, and we will spend the 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>We\u2019ll announce the final results during a virtual event July 29. In October, as you\u2019re prepared to vote for candidates, we\u2019ll host an in-person convening to further explore the issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/hey-gov-whitmer-heres-what-michigan-says-is-real-state-of-the-state\/\">Hey, Gov. Whitmer: Here\u2019s what Michigan says is real State of the State<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/fact-check-how-gretchen-whitmer-delivered-and-didnt-on-her-promises\/\"><strong>Fact check: How Whitmer delivered \u2014 and didn\u2019t \u2014 on her promises<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\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<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is important stuff. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitchamber.com\/feb-2026-michigan-voter-poll\/\">A poll released this week<\/a> by the Detroit Regional Chamber underscores that there\u2019s a big disconnect between how voters perceive Michigan\u2019s economy and educational opportunities and reality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The poll found that residents across political spectrums believed Michigan was wealthier and smarter. In fact, the state is ranked 44th in the nation for education by <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.aecf.org\/m\/databook\/2025-KCDB-profile-MI.pdf\">the Annie E. Casey Foundation<\/a>, while incomes have fallen to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsdetroit.com\/education\/michigans-capita-income-drops-lowest-ranking-ever\">40th in the nation from 18th in just 25 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are fundamental problems that candidates seeking your trust must address in deep detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Bridge Listens is designed to be fun as well, an unscientific survey that we hope prompts conversations and healthy debate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Voting is easy. It should take less than 1 minute. We\u2019ll update the results often. Follow along with our regular election-year coverage of fact-checks, investigations, voter guides, issues analysis and accountability reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bridge is your megaphone. Use it. Because so much is at stake in Michigan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Make your voice heard. Help Bridge identify the top state issue so we can demand answers from candidates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1414,"featured_media":73102,"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":"2026-02-24T20:25:14Z","apple_news_api_id":"c54ba983-5a37-4496-bbc8-e3aa244c8363","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-24T20:25:33Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AxUupg1o3RJa7yOOqJEyDYw","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":[2455],"tags":[4438],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2472,2476],"class_list":["post-73100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","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>What\u2019s Michigan\u2019s top election issue? 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Whitmer: Here\u2019s what Michigan says is real State of the State","author":"Jordyn Hermani","date":"February 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will discuss the State of the State on Wednesday. Here are what the facts \u2014 and Bridge readers \u2014 say.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Michigan Government&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Michigan Government","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/category\/michigan-government\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gov. 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