On this week’s episode of Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Hill Harper, a Democratic candidate for Michigan’s open senate seat, to discuss how the state could swing the 2024 presidential election.

Michigan, which proved to be a key battleground in 2016 and 2020, is currently heavily leaning towards Donald Trump. That could spell trouble for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign — not to mention down-ballot races in a state that, until recently, appeared to be increasingly shifting blue. 

In today’s interview, David and Hill discuss the political stakes in Michigan, and how issues in the state such as the auto strikes, the Israel-Hamas War, the Enbridge pipeline, and abortion rights are influencing the electorate. 

Hill, a well-known actor, also talks about the challenges of running as a progressive candidate against the Democratic establishment’s chosen candidate, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, and the influence of big money in American politics. The two discuss the phone call Hill  received last November from a wealthy donor who offered him $20 million to drop out of the senate race and instead mount a primary challenge against Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress. 

A transcript of this episode is available here.

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BONUS: On Monday's bonus episode of Lever Time Premium, exclusively for The Lever’s supporting subscribers, we’ll be sharing David Sirota’s conversation with media strategist Jason Kint about Facebook’s parent company Meta, which is currently suing the Federal Trade Commission to prevent regulators from reinforcing a 2020 privacy settlement regarding the company’s monetization of user data from children. 

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