Absentee ballots go into the mail in just two weeks. In Michigan, the attention and the massive ad spending is split between candidate races and two very high-profile ballot proposals.

Also this week on the podcast:

Then Jeff and Mark discuss candidates and ballot proposals with Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Elected in February 2019, she is the first Black woman to hold this post. Prior to being elected Chair, Barnes was the Chief Operating Officer for the MDP, a post she held since 2015.

A political veteran with extensive experience in field, communications, and fundraising, Barnes has implemented and grown a year-round, full-time organizing strategy in every corner of Michigan. She is chief architect of MDP’s Project 83, started in 2017. It is the blueprint for a successful organizing model now being adopted by other states in the country, following Michigan’s lead.

Barnes is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Born in North Carolina, her family moved to Virginia where she spent the majority of her childhood. The mother of 3, Barnes lives with her family in Ann Arbor.

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This week’s podcast is underwritten by Practical Political Consulting and EPIC-MRA. We thank them for supporting “A Republic, If You Can Keep It.”