Michigan Matters: Sizing up the field as Election 2024 hits final stretch

(CBS DETROIT) – Michigan GOP Party Chair Pete Hoekstra and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow discuss the results of the primary and how the field of candidates still standing and their prospects look as Election 2024 enters the sprint to the finish line on Nov. 5 on CBS Detroit’s Michigan Matters.
Hoekstra, who took over leadership of the state’s GOP earlier this year with Donald Trump’s blessing, talked about the former president and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. 
Pundits say Michigan is key in the race to gain keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Trump is facing Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minn Gov. Tim Walz, after President Joe Biden stepped aside almost a month ago. 
Hoekstra also talked about Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat, as he faces Democratic challenger Rep. Elissa Slotkin in a contest pundits expect to be among the most competitive in the nation, with over $100 million dropped between the two candidates. 
Polls show that race, as Hoekstra said Rogers, “has people’s backs,” which he said would resonate. 
McMorrow, a rising star in the Democratic Party, talked about Harris and Walz, who have been greeted by massive crowds in Metro Detroit and other cities they have visited since she announced him as her running mate last week. McMorrow was with them Wednesday at a Metro Detroit Airport hangar as a crowd of 15,000 greeted them. 
She also talked about Biden and his legacy, his decision to step aside, and its impact, as it has essentially reset the presidential contest with Harris and Trump running close in polls in major states, including Michigan. McMorrow said she will be working to help elect Harris-Walz, Slotkin and other Democratic candidates further down the ballot in Michigan. 
With so much attention paid to the presidential contest, it’s been difficult for candidates in other races to gain a lot of attention. 
With the Democratic convention held next week in Chicago, McMorrow expects the momentum Harris-Walz has gained to continue. 
Trump, who has visited Michigan often during his presidential runs, will likely be coming back soon. Hoekstra said, and Vance, who was in suburban Detroit last week, is expected to visit Grand Rapids this coming Wednesday. 
What’s ahead? Stay tuned as this presidential race, unlike any in the nation’s history, continues to play out.
Watch Michigan Matters at its new time: 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit, noon Sundays on Detroit 50 WKBD)
(Carol Cain is the 13-time Emmy-winning senior producer and host of Michigan)