This podcast is sponsored in part by EPIC-MRA Opinion Research

The bargaining between the prosecutors and various Trump-related defendants is ratcheting up, even as Trump’s numbers in the GOP nomination race also are moving up. But will Donald Trump even appear on the ballot if there’s a Republican presidential primary in Michigan? That question is up in the air with a potential lawsuit challenging Trump’s eligibility, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson stuck in the middle of a very sticky and unprecedented legal situation.

Also on our agenda this week: 

Michigan Democrats are turning up the heat on Republicans over reproductive healthcare rights with a new package of bills aimed at keeping the government out of these decisions. 

Courts in two states have thrown out congressional district maps because of Republican gerrymandering.

A couple of candidates make it official: Mike Rogers is moving back to Michigan to run for the Senate, and Carl Marlinga is looking for a rematch with John James.

We're joined this week by author and Lincoln Project Adviser Stuart Stevens.

Stu has worked at the top level of more presidential and senatorial campaigns than just about anyone. His first presidential effort: the Bob Dole campaign in 1996. His book The Big Enchilada is a chronicle of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign. Other campaigns on his resume include Mitt Romney, Governor Haley Barbour, Governor Tom Ridge, Senator Thad Cochran, Senator Dick Lugar, Senator Mel Martínez, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Jon Kyl, Governor Bill Weld, Governor Paul Cellucci, Governor Bob RileySSS

Stevens is also a prolific writer. It Was All A Lie: How The Republican Party Became Donald Trump is his eighth book; his ninth book, The Conspiracy to End America Five Ways comes out October 10. He has also written extensively for dramatic television series, starting with Northern Exposure and including I’ll Fly Away, K. Street, Commander in Chief and others.

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