Bret Baier Goes One-on-One with Michigan Voters Ahead of the 2026 Midterm Elections

The Justice Department is seeking to preemptively block Alaska from certifying the results of its Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses by a narrow margin to another candidate named Dan J. Sullivan Jr. The department says voters could be confused because of the similarity. President Trump told reporters today that he was the one to authorize a preemptive lawsuit. Speaking of the president, the president sounding optimistic as he blitzes across red States with just a week and a half to go until the midterm elections. Today, he was in Fort Myers, Florida, this afternoon. Eleven days from now, the people of Florida are going to elect Byron Donalds as your next governor. And we're going to elect Ashley Moody to the United States Senate. And we're going to defeat the radical left Democrats all across the country. And we're going to win a Republican House and a Republican Senate and do things like you wouldn't believe. The president says he's seeing the greatest spirit right now of any midterm campaign he can remember. And speaking of campaigns, let's hear from Michigan voters. I talked to several of them today. It is our democracy and we aim to protect it. A close race in Michigan. Let's be the work belt of the Midwest again. Has voters considering who will best address the issues crucial to them. We can't afford El-Sai'i in leadership. Marcus Bowman is on the Housing Commission in Pontiac, Michigan. He's running for the nonpartisan school board there. What's driving you this election, issue-wise? Education. I think education is the prime essence of what we need to build on because we've dropped in Michigan over the past eight years to the bottom of the rankings. And I feel if we can improve our educations, we can salvage our future to make it more sustainable for the children that are coming versus the ones that are leaving. Bowman believes Mike Rogers is the best choice for Michigan's Senate seat, and he says the Rogers campaign is making headway in the black community. So you're voting for Mike Rogers? Of course I'm voting for Mike Rogers. Yeah. He and his campaign have spent a lot of time in Detroit, in black communities, probably in Pontiac. Is that paying off? I think it is. Whether you're independent, Democrat, Republican, he's talking to everybody. And you see that movement, like Democrats who are supporting? Thank goodness, yes. I see it's strong, because a lot of Democrats just don't want to go backwards. They want to move forwards, and Michigan has been declining and declining. I think it's going to be a one-point race either way. Ken Harb says he has traditionally voted Republican. You're a Palestinian Christian from that community, which is fairly big as far as other states Michigan is. Right. How much does that factor into your vote? um well obviously it does right uh but that's not my primary consideration what's the biggest issue for you look i'm a small government anti-war liberty-minded conservative right so that is what i care about most and you voted for democrats and republicans no i voted for republicans my entire adult life only republicans only republicans wow so going back to gerald forward in michigan's midterm elections harb is voting a split party ticket for Republican gubernatorial nominee John James and Democratic Senate nominee El Sayed, I mean really the war sounds is a big issue for you. It is, it is when when that happened when Donald Trump initiated a war of choice to me, uh you know I told my friends that Democrats are going to win Donald Trump's going to lose the midterms. The economy is kind of the driver in your circles? 100%. The economy is the driver. Two years ago, we spoke with Michigan manufacturer Jeff Simic. We're also concerned about growing manufacturing and making sure we have the ability to compete globally. Two years ago, we spoke and you were concerned about workers gap and manufacturing manufacturing and manufacturing overall here in Michigan. Has that improved? Has it changed for you? Yeah, no, absolutely. With the one big, beautiful bill and the tax provisions that were put into play for business, it's creating certainty for us. And so a lot of investment is happening in infrastructure, equipment and, you know, buildings. And so that's important. Obviously, that creates jobs here. And it's real. I mean, it's real. It's happening across the state of Michigan. Simic believes Mike Rogers and John James are the best candidates to support Michigan manufacturing and the defense industrial base. So the issue that drives you for this election was it like the last time the economy and kind of that stimulating? You know so Michigan's broadly dominant with the automotive industry all of our manufacturing is and with the automotive industry not coming back like it used to be you know we have capacity to do more and we have capacity to do more in defense, in aerospace. What do you think gets you to the decision-making time when you fill out that absentee ballot? I think as I fill in the rest of the ballot, I'll probably get to the top and then it may be just a, like they say, a game-time decision to figure out what to do. Andy Polson was undecided when we spoke to him in 2024. I'm looking a little bit Democratic this time. Why is that? What's driving you? Mostly just the condition of the country right now. I think we're more divided, We're more against each other. There's more arguments going on. The tariffs mean a lot here. The tariffs mean a lot here. And, you know, the threats from Ontario about shutting off power and everything, that impacts us in Michigan directly. And so I just, the battle that's gone on with that, I just don't think it was right. I don't think it was handled properly. And that leads you to El Sayed? It doesn't lead me to him. It leads me away from. Rogers. Rogers. Polson already has a split ticket ballot in mind this time around, voting for Republican John James for governor, and Democrat Jeremy Moss for Michigan's 11th Congressional District. So, Alyssa Slotkin is one kind of Democrat. El-Sayed is a different kind of Democrat. Completely different. And that's interesting to get your vote. Yeah, it is. And it's, like I say, it's a struggle. You really have to think about it a little bit. A lot of friends are going Rogers, and have probably never voted Republican in their life. So, let me ask you, this election, what's driving you? On the business front, I get up every day and I think about how do we protect and grow our auto industry in Michigan and our country. that's what drives me. Glenn Stevens Jr. has spent 30 years working in Michigan's auto industry and wants a candidate who focuses on his important issues. Do you like split government? If it works together yeah and we've done that in our past you go back decades, if you look at the Marshall Plan, the Civil Rights Act different things like we got work done across the aisle this country has to get back to that that's what I'm looking for in the people that lead, and govern. Detroit is the largest U.S. city along the country's border with Canada, making trade a key issue here in this state. I mean, you just look across the river and it's right there. They're our friends and neighbors. We've been doing business together. We've been trading together for centuries. But in the auto industry, we've been doing business together for 125 plus years. Stevens has been meeting with automotive stakeholders across Michigan and will work to advance some of the industry's goals alongside some of the officials he helps elect. On the Senate seat, the Rogers-El-Sayed seat, I mean, they are two different views about how things go. And that's hard to cut through right now. From my standpoint, my family standpoint, and from the business side, who's good for business? Who's good for education? Who's for an affordable economy where people can build a life and start a business and run a business? That's important. From now to election day, you're going to make that call. Going to make that call. But right now, you can't make it. Not on all elections, no. I'll make some decisions on that day.