September 1, 2026

Dear Credit Union Leaders,

Summer is drawing to a close! It is almost football season, and we are just weeks away from the November General Election. As we begin to look toward fall, here are the updates you need.

Advocacy

In Lansing, the legislature largely remains in recess but will return to some substantive work periodically this month. As we mentioned in the last edition, bills have been introduced during the recess, including new versions of the nine bills held over from the last legislative session that were recently vetoed by Governor Whitmer. Included in the reintroduction package were that session’s offerings on garnishment and bankruptcy reform. In a brief return to committee action, the House Finance Committee also considered legislation to consolidate and update the first and second mortgage acts. Our team continues work behind the scenes, pushing for action on technical updates to the MCUA, authorizing private primary share insurance for state-chartered credit unions, and nationally promulgated updates to our state’s Uniform Commercial Code.

In Washington, D.C., Congress is returning to action as well. As mentioned previously, potential action on the Clarity Act, H.R. 3633 still looms. John Crews has been confirmed to the NCUA Board as Chair, and is settling into his role. 

Grassroots and Advocacy Funding

Registration is open for Congressional Caucus 2026, hosted by America’s Credit Unions.  The event takes place Sept. 13-15 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Registration is also open for our 2026 Hike the Hill! The event will take place from September 15-17. You can access information on the event, hotels, and scholarships at Hike the Hill - Michigan Credit Union League. We hope to see you in Washington, D.C.!

For those that participate, we will be gearing up for this year’s Rivalry Week competition this fall against the Ohio Credit Union League. Stay tuned for more information, this year we have a new idea that may help put Michigan over the top! For more information, please contact Todd (Todd.Jorns@mcul.org) or Kieran (Kieran.Marion@mcul.org). 

Elections

August yielded some very interesting Primary Election results!

In the Republican Governor’s race, U.S. Rep. John James defeated Perry Johnson handily. With almost all votes tallied, James collected 50% to Johnson’s 35.2%, and former Attorney General Mike Cox taking about 13%. Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson cruised to victory over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, 83.1% to 16.9%, in that gubernatorial primary – making it the first actual major race of the night to be called. The “primaries” for Attorney General and Secretary of State are decided at partisan conventions, not the August ballot box. In November, Democrat Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II will square off against Macomb County Clerk and former state Representative Tony Forlini for Secretary of State. Republican Doug Lloyd, the Eaton County Prosecutor, will face Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit to be the next Attorney General.

One of the most closely watched U.S. Senate primaries on the Democrat side in the nation was called mid-morning in favor of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens by a single point, 48.5% to 47.5%. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the race late and still appeared on the ballot, looks to have peeled off 4%. Dr. El-Sayed will face former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in November, with Rogers having run uncontested.

In the U.S. House races, Democrat state Sen. Jeremy Moss won a crowded primary in the open 11th Congressional and will face Republican Ethan Baker. Republican Michael Bouchard won the Republican race in the 10th Congressional and will face Democrat Christina Hines who emerged on the Democrat side. The 13th Congressional was also a highly watched race, with state Rep. Donavan McKinney winning over incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar by about 4,200 votes. While not an open seat, Democrat challenger William Lawrence beat a pair of more establishment candidates for the right to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett in the 7th Congressional, which is projected to be one of the most hotly contested races in the country. Likewise, despite uneventful primaries, Democrat U.S. Rep. Kristen MacDonald-Rivet will face a challenge from Republican Thomas Smith in the always-contested 8th Congressional. 

Down ballot in the state Senate, it appears that more establishment Democrats and current or former lawmakers seeking positions in the upper chamber faced an uphill battle. Former Democrat Reps. Abraham Aiyash and LaTanya Garrett, current Reps. Erin Byrnes and Phil Skaggs, and former Sen. Adam Hollier all fell short, as did open-seat candidate and popular local official Mark Polsdofer who was heavily favored leading into yesterday’s contests. Current and former Democrat lawmakers, including Reps. Jason Hoskins, Felicia Brabec, and Natalie Price will move on to November having won. Sitting or former Republican lawmakers fared better in this regard, though, with Reps. Gina Johnsen, Matt Bierlein, David Prestin, Donni Steele, Doug Wozniak, and Andrew Beeler moving on to November. 

In the state House, perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the night came with Democrat Rep. Helena Scott losing to her challenger, Chris Gilmer-Hill. Notably, former Rep. Frank Liberati also lost his open-seat bid to return to the House to Joanna Whaley. In a pair of open seat races that MCUL watched closely, Democrat Khristian Silvis, a former district aide to U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, defeated her challenger in the 84th House District (Grand Rapids area), and Republican Jaxon Deur in the 101st House District (Fremont/Newaygo area) narrowly won his five-way primary.

All 110 state House seats, 38 state Senate seats, 13 U.S. House seats and Executive Branch positions, as well as one open U.S. Senate seat are be up for election this year. MCUL does not engage in judicial or university races, or local races. As we draw closer to November, if you have any information or if you or your credit union has a particular relationship with any state or federal candidates, please contact our team and share what you know! Endorsement of candidates in the 2026 General Election will still be considered on a monthly basis, based on survey results as well as member and staff input and intel. Support for candidates is based on their support for the credit union philosophy and difference, and is not based in any manner on partisan considerations. 

As always, thank you for all that you do for Michigan’s credit unions! 

Current Endorsements:

U.S. House

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, 1st District
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, 2nd District
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, 3rd District
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, 4th District
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, 5th District
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, 6th District
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, 7th District
U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald-Rivet, 8th District
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, 9th District
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, 12th District
(State) Rep. Donavan McKinney, 13th District

State House

Rep. Veronica Paiz (D) – 10th District
Rep. Kimberly Edwards (D) – 12th District
Rep. Mai Xiong (D) – 13th District
Rep. Jason Morgan (D) – 23rd District
Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D), House Democrat Leader – 24th District
Rep. Jamie Thompson (R) – 28th District
Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R) – 35th District
Rep. Joey Andrews (D) – 38th District
Rep. Matt Hall, Speaker of the House (R) - 42nd District
Rep. Steve Frisbie (R) – 44th District
Rep. Sarah Lightner (R) – 45th District
Rep. Kathy Schmaltz (R) – 46th District
Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D) – 47th District
Rep. Jennifer Conlon (D) – 48th District
Rep. Jason Woolford (R) – 50th District
Rep. Mike Harris (R) – 52nd District
Rep. Brenda Carter (D) – 53rd District
Rep. Mark Tisdel (R) – 55th District
Rep. Sharon MacDonnell (D) – 56th District
Rep. Ron Robinson (R) – 58th District
Rep. Denise Mentzer (D) – 61st District
Rep. Alicia St. Germaine (R) – 62nd District
Rep. Joe Pavlov (R) – 64th District
Rep. Jaime Greene (R) – 65th District
Rep. Penelope Tsernoglue (D) – 75th District
Rep. Angela Witwer (D) – 76th District
Khristian Silvis (D) – 84th District
Rep. Brad Slagh (R) – 85th District
Rep. Nancy DeBoer (R) – 86th District
Rep. Will Snyder (D) – 87th District
Rep. Jerry Neyer (R) – 92nd District
Rep. Amos O’Neal (D) – 94th District
Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R) – 95th District
Rep. Timmy Beson (R) – 96th District
Rep. Greg Alexander (R) – 98th District
Rep. Tom Kunse (R) – 100th District
Jaxon Deur (R) – 101st District
Rep. Curt Vanderwall (R) – 102nd District

State Senate

Abbas Alawieh – 2nd District
Rep. Matt Kolezar (D) – 5th District
Sen. Mary Cavanagh (D) – 6th District
Rep. Jason Hoskins (D) – 7th District
Sen. Michael Webber (R) – 9th District
Sen. Veronica Klinefelt (D) – 11th District
Sen. Kevin Hertel (D) – 12th District
Sen. Sue Shink (D) – 14th District
Sen. Thomas Albert (R) – 18th District
Rep. Donni Steele (R) – 23rd District
Rep. Douglas Wozniak (R) – 24th District
Rep. Matthew Bierlien (R) – 25th District
Dr. Rashida Harrison (D) – 28th District
Sen. Mark Huizenga (R) – 30th District
Kim Cole (R) – 32nd District
Rep. Gina Johnsen (R) – 33rd District
Sen. Roger Hauck (R) – 34th District
Sen. Chedrick Green (D) – 35th District
Sen. Michele Hoitenga (R) – 36th District
Sen. John Damoose (R) – 37th District
Rep. David Prestin (R) – 38th District

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