Michigan
Michigan is a pivotal battleground state with dozens of critical federal, state and judicial races in 2026. The outcome of these elections also could be key to the successful planning and execution for a free and fair 2028 presidential election.
For these reasons, Flip the Vote is supporting two Michigan groups in our 2026 portfolio. Together, these organizations work in key parts of the state, reaching working class voters from all demographics.
Rising Voices organizes and develops the leadership of Asian American women and young people to increase power around progressive values and policy in Michigan. They promote the civic participation of Asian American women and families in the state, with particular emphasis on underrepresented communities. They provide opportunities for youth leadership, including recent advocacy in support of legislative efforts to include curriculum and content about all of Michigan’s diverse communities.
Michigan United Action (MUA) is a statewide multi-racial organization of leaders working for economic and racial justice in Michigan. MUA uses community organizing and civic engagement to advocate for change. MUA is deeply committed to ensuring that government reflects the needs of all people in Michigan, not just the wealthy and powerful.
Recent Achievements
Rising Voices and MUA activated thousands of voters who contributed to important wins in Michigan in 2024.
Democrat Elissa Slotkin was elected to the US Senate over her Republican opponent by fewer than 20,000 votes
The Democratic nominees for justice of the Michigan Supreme Court won their races, moving the court from a 4-3 Democratic-backed majority to a 5-2 majority
Kept the Democratic margin of loss in the presidential election well below the national average (1.9% shift from 2020 compared to 6% nationally)
Held six of seven Democratic US House seats despite the rightward shift in the state
Rising Voices expanded outreach efforts across Michigan, including in the western portion of the state, for the first time in their history. They knocked on over 125,000 doors and executed a robust phone program and their largest digital program to date. They also produced over half a million mail pieces providing in-language or community-specific messaging such as defending against far-right targeting in Muslim-majority areas.
Rising Voices is also proud of their DIY Power Civic Education series which focuses on countering mis- and disinformation and building faith in the electoral process–work that will pay dividends beyond any single electoral cycle. You can see examples of their in-language civic education and engagement videos here.
In the 2024 election cycle, MUA conducted an expansive canvassing effort around the state, including in working-class communities in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Macomb, the largest effort of any state-based organization (outside of organized labor). MUA worked with more than 500 community leaders to engage over 90,000 people and hosted or participated in more than 120 community events. MUA is a leader within the Michigan organizing ecosystem, and, in the 2024 election cycle, they built and strengthened collaborations with dozens of organizations to strategize and coordinate canvasses, voter education, and voter protection efforts. All of this has laid a strong foundation for organizing in the 2026 election cycle.
What makes Michigan crucial this cycle
A US Senate seat, open due to the retirement of Democrat Gary Peters, will be crucial to defend
Three competitive districts in Michigan could be pivotal to Democratic efforts to flip the US House of Representatives
Statewide races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state will determine control over electoral processes in this important presidential battleground state
Democrats will also defend their slim majority in the state senate and work to flip the state house in order to pursue new legislative reforms
Two Michigan Supreme Court races will be on the ballot in 2026 and a negative result could reverse the Democratic-backed majority on the current court
What Flip the Vote’s support means for 2026
Rising Voices’ and MUA’s key strategies to engage the community in 2026 include deep organizing in support of issues of the highest concern in their communities, such as a statewide ballot measure to impose a progressive tax measure to fund schools.
With Flip the Vote’s support, Rising Voices will be able to hire additional organizers and provide stipends for volunteer signature-gatherers and core leaders allowing them to build relationships early, more effectively spread their message, and turn out values-aligned voters for the 2026 election. This early investment will make the work accessible to a broader range of voting communities and more sustainable for volunteers and organizers in Michigan’s Congressional District 10, one of the three most competitive in the state. Investments from Flip the Vote’s donors will also underwrite Rising Voices’ critical but time-intensive and expensive work to provide in-language content for many communities, including materials in Bangla, Chinese (Mandarin/Traditional), Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Hindi.
In 2025 and early 2026, MUA has used issue-centered organizing–for example, around a ballot measure to eliminate money in politics–to build relationships with the community that will ultimately translate to votes for endorsed candidates this November. With additional investment from Flip the Vote’s donors, MUA can strengthen their digital organizing capacity, deepen their work in Congressional Districts 7 and 10 and could also expand into another highly competitive US House district, Michigan’s Congressional District 8.
“By leading with issues as opposed to leading with candidates, we are able to uncover the voters’ self interest that can then be connected back to the importance of voting for our endorsed candidates. Ultimately, by leading with issues our work remains grounded in building relationships that last beyond any one canvas or any one campaign.”