Elected Officials Must Stand Up for Michiganders

Guest Opinion

As we say goodbye to one election season and get fully thrown into another that will elect the entire Michigan state government, U.S. House representatives, and a U.S. Senator, it’s important to take a step back and remind ourselves and our elected officials why we go to the ballot box to make our voices heard.

For most of us, every three out of four years, the first Tuesday in November will be highlighted on our calendars as a day to go out and vote. However, 2025 feels a bit different.

Throughout 2025, we’ve witnessed No Kings rallies across the country, including countless rallies from Michigan’s urban centers in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Traverse City and even in small towns like Beaver Island and St. Ignace.

We’ve seen folks mobilize in the streets, make phone calls to congressional members, create TikToks to inform the masses, and yes, we’ve seen people fulfill their civic duty by casting their votes in elections.

However bad things get, and however hopeless our situation feels, every act of resistance matters and every one of us has an obligation to fight back.

What makes this year different is that we have a White House as well as state and federal representatives that are actively making cuts to food assistance, healthcare, public education, food safety, and so much more, while pushing for tax giveaways for their wealthy friends and corporate donors. As a result, the United States is becoming more and more unaffordable while the wealth gap increases.

We also are witnessing families being torn apart and communities living in fear because of a rogue ICE agency and enablers who sow division and punish our neighbors.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history featured food assistance and healthcare being used as bargaining chips and retribution points, while Americans panicked about where their next meal will come from or if they will be able to afford needed care in January.

All of these issues will be talking points during the election season in 2026. Panels on cable news channels will debate which issue will be at the top of minds for voters. Political talking heads will claim to have all the answers months before votes are cast. Commercials will once again flood our TVs. But what will be done in the meantime?

Instead of jumping from election to election and predicting which way the pendulum will swing, Michiganders and people across the country deserve elected officials who will stand up for them right now.

We deserve representatives who will put our needs first and not follow the White House with a cult mentality. We demand those who represent us in office to actually represent our needs and not the interests of wealthy CEOs and corporate donors. We cannot afford to have anything short of this.

Michiganders are suffering because of the actions of Donald Trump and those who do his bidding in Washington. Each day food becomes less affordable for families, opportunities for everyday Michiganders decrease, and our communities become unstable.

Each day our elected officials refuse to put the people first, our neighbors lose out. Each day those in power refuse to take a stand for what’s right, those who are pushing hate, harm, and division win. This is not about partisan politics, this is about people-centered leadership—and Michiganders deserve that leadership, no matter who they are or where they live.

We have elections, including primaries, in less than 12 months, and it’s on all of us to stay informed, engaged, and invested in our democracy.

But that’s the easy part. Let’s also continue to hold our elected officials accountable and demand that they waste not another day in putting our needs first.

Denzel McCampbell is the managing director of Progress Michigan, a nonprofit communications advocacy and government watchdog group.

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