Weekly Roundup: MAGA Extremism Up and Down the Ballot in Michigan

This week, Americans were as uninterested in MAGA mania as ever

LANSING - This week, Donald Trump and his MAGA fanatics were making headlines for all the wrong reasons - lying about the Harris rally, threatening to take away Michiganders' rights, and spreading election misinformation.

In the Michigan Supreme Court election, Democratic-backed candidates Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas both raised close to a million dollars each for their campaigns. On the other hand, not a single conservative candidate managed to raise much more than $35,000 for their campaigns, with notorious election denier Matt DePerno only raising $136 … and 44 cents!

The chaos of Republicans never ends, so see how Michigan Dems and Chair Barnes were reacting to it in more detail below.

Check out more from the week:

First, Michigan Dems highlighted the chaos of the debate between the conservative candidates for the state Supreme Court. This debate was infested with MAGA extremist candidates who support stripping away their rights and enforcing a "biblical" future onto Michiganders:

The Gander: Republican candidates go full MAGA at Michigan Supreme Court debate

• The Republican candidates for the state Supreme Court are standing against Michigan's women and workers-and the 'woke rogue liberal bench' that has sided with them.
• The Republican candidates vying for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court this year are voicing support for a far-right, "biblical" vision for the future which could peel back abortion access, workers' rights, protections for the LGBTQ community, and a whole lot more…

And, exactly how well is that strategy going for the candidates? Let's take a quick peek at their fundraising numbers because certainly, if Michiganders agree with them, the money must reflect that. While Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas have collectively raised close to $2 million, their conservative opponents have raised a whopping total of…. $147,000:

AP: Prominent 2020 election denier seeks GOP nod for Michigan Supreme Court race

• DePerno was named as a "prime instigator" in the voting machine tampering case. Five vote tabulators were illegally taken from three Michigan counties and brought to a hotel room, according to documents released in 2022 by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office…
• "Michigan is one of only two state Supreme Courts in the country that could flip to a conservative majority this cycle - putting abortion access, unions and workers, and our very democracy at risk," Lavora Barnes, the Michigan Democratic Party chair, said in a statement.

MIRS: Dem Supreme Court Candidates Raised $2M; GOP Candidates $147K

• The two Democratic Supreme Court candidates, and presumed nominees, have raised around $2 million combined going into the Aug. 24 Democratic Party convention, while all five Republicans, combined, have raised $147,000 prior to their convention, according to numbers released by today's campaign finance deadline…
• And, most surprising, was former Attorney General nominee Matt DePERNO, who raised $136.44 among three separate donations. He's got $47.87 in the bank.

While MAGA extremists were at it at the state level, Donald Trump was taking the far-right lead at the national level by claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris's rally crowd was AI-generated. Despite the more than 15,000 people who attended, Trump still tried to convince everyone that she had to fake the enthusiasm at her rally. Thankfully, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes was there to bring him back to reality:

CNN: Trump spreads false conspiracy theory about Harris' Detroit crowd size

• Donald Trump falsely claimed in a series of social media posts Sunday that "nobody" attended Vice President Kamala Harris' Michigan rally last week - and said his Democratic rival should be "disqualified" over a "fake crowd picture…"
• Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party, shared on X a photo from the event showing her speaking to a large crowd before Harris was introduced. Barnes joked that she was "honored that whoever made the AI image of 15,000 excited Democrats welcoming" Harris and running mate Tim Walz to Detroit "was kind enough to include me at the lectern. That AI crowd was really loud, my ears just stopped ringing from their imaginary cheering," Barnes said.

And, once again, here were some of our favorite tweets from the week:

Thanks for spending the week with us, we'll see you next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago! Til then.

Signing off,

Michigan Dems

###

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.