The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Special Election Coverage, Key Gubernatorial Race, Abortion on the Ballot | Nov. 8

Episode Date: November 8, 2022

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Michigan’s gubernatorial election.  The fight for life in Michigan.  How to follow the key races on election night.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Kate Trinco, editor-in-chief of the Daily Signal, and this is a special Election Day edition of the Daily Signal Top News for Tuesday, November 8th. Today is likely one of the most watched midterm elections in years. Voters across the country will ultimately decide today whether Republicans or Democrats control the House and the Senate. And after the COVID-19 pandemic, many states have the chance to elect new governors. Five states are weighing in on the abortion issue with ballot measures. including California, Montana, Kentucky, Vermont, and Michigan. The Daily Signals, Virginia Allen is in Michigan reporting on the abortion-related amendment on the ballot there and the governor's race. She joins us now.

Hey, Virginia. Hey, Kate. How's it going? Good, good. It's good to hear you, you know, several hundred miles away. So you were at the polls this morning talking to voters about this abortion-related amendment. Are voters in Michigan backing it? How do they feel about it?

Yeah, it's really a mixed back. especially because this issue, it's not actually straight Republican or Democrat. Michigan voters, they were asked on the ballot today if they want to amend the state constitution to include an individual's right to reproductive freedom. And the ballot question says that adding reproductive freedom to the Constitution includes all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care. So the language here is really important because some voters have raised

concerns over that word sterilization, saying this amendment could actually open the doors for minors to receive gender transition surgeries in which their reproductive organs are removed without parental consent. I talked with one voter. His name is Dave Lockman at the polls this morning in Eastern Lansing. Dave has lived in Michigan for 25 years, and he voted in this election to re-elect Governor Gretchen Whitmer, but he said that he couldn't support Proposal 3 because of the way it's written. I think it's too vague, even for a constitutional amendment. The language is too broad. So some of the broad language, Dave's not comfortable with, is wording like attending health care professional who can determine if an abortion is necessary to protect the

life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. But an attending health care professional is a pretty vague category. So Virginia, this abortion amendment has received a lot of attention all over the country. One of the reasons for this is there's a pro-life elderly woman who was actually shot while canvassing in opposition of the amendment, right? Yeah, that's right. Joanne Jacobson, she's in her 80, she's a retired nurse, and she's very pro-life. She actually is a volunteer with Right to Life in Michigan. And in September, she was canvassing in her community of Lake Odessa, Michigan, in opposition

to this pro-abortion amendment. And she got in a bit of an argument with a woman whose door she had knocked on. They were discussing the amendment, and things just got a little bit heated. And the woman's husband heard the two women arguing, and he approached with a gun in his hand. The man is reported to have used that gun to shove a clipboard aside that Joanne was holding, but the gun went off, and it hit Joanne in the shoulder. She then was actually able to drive herself to the Lake Odessa Police Department before then she was taken to the hospital.

And the man who shot Joanne, he's cooperating with authorities, and he said that the incident was a mistake. But as for Joanne, she says she's doing really well, apart from just a little bit of shoulder pain. And in fact, she's doing so well that she spent the day at the polls in her community to talk to voters about this proposal three. So I went to see Joanne at the polls earlier today. She was all bundled up in a coat and scarf and hat. It's a little bit cold here in Michigan. And she was sitting by this big sign that told voters, Proposal 3 is dangerous to children, parents, and women.

And I asked her, I said, why are you still out here talking to voters after you were literally shot doing just that? And this is what she had to say. This sign I decided to be here because in case there was somebody that was kind of like on the fence, wasn't really sure that maybe I would be here that I could say this is what it's going to do and perhaps swayed them to vote against it. But Joan said that she firmly believes in the sanctity of life and that protecting life allows society to endure, and that's why she's out there doing what she's doing. So let's talk briefly about the governor's race in Michigan. Michigan is one of several states with a close race for governor. How are things looking on the ground there? Yeah, things are definitely very close.

The latest polling gives incumbent Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer about a four-point lead over Dixon. but again, this is a tight race. Whitmer even said herself at her rally last night, her final rally of the campaign that this election could be decided by a few thousand votes. I've talked to voters, those who are backing Whitmer, many of them are doing so because they feel like, you know, she's done a good job and they also really support her pro-abortion views. Those voting for the Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon say businesses and schools suffered so much. under the long COVID-19 lockdowns that Whitmer imposed that they want to change. And today I actually also spoke with a Democrat state representative, Yusuf Rabi.

And to end on a little bit of a positive note, he says, even though, you know, he's backing Whitmer, he says, no matter what happens in this election, he feels like both for those in Michigan and for Americans, that there is so much hope for our country. We're all Americans at the end of the day. We're all, you know, in this together, this, you know, this great experiment of, you know, democracy. And, you know, we have to remember that. And win or lose, it's, you know, how do we pick ourselves up tomorrow and work together to do good for the public. But, Kate, we both know that it's going to be a late night, not just here in Michigan, but across the country, as we're all eager to see what happens in this major midterm election.

Yes. that certainly will be. Virginia, we look forward to following your coverage in Michigan. Obviously, we'll be publishing it on DailySignal.com, but for people who can't wait, what's your Twitter handle so they can follow you there? Sure. You can find me on Twitter, Virginia underscore Allen 5. All right. Thanks, Virginia. And tonight, the Daily Signal is covering not just Michigan, but key races and ballot measures across the country. And if you're looking for some additional insight tonight, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern exclusively on Getter.

We're going to have a show going for about two, two and a half hours where Rob Lewy, one of the hosts of this show, as well as our colleague Samantha Escheris, will be hosting that show exclusively on Getter. They'll be talking to our colleagues from, of course, the Daily Signal, but also the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America to get those insights about the results, what we've seen today. So please be sure to tune into that.

You don't need to have a Getter account. You can just watch it there. Also, join us tomorrow morning for a conversation with Heritage Foundation Election Integrity expert Hans von Spakoski as we discuss whether or not you can trust the election results. And if you haven't gotten a chance, please be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Also, please make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcasts and help us reach more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review. We read all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. a great night and be sure to join us at 8 p.m. Eastern on Getter for live election coverage.

The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. The executive producers are Rob Blewey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Rank. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visitdailySignal.com.