LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – While the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) is out knocking on digital doors and ringing every fundraising bell they can find, the Michigan GOP appears to be in witness protection.
In a recent email blast to supporters, the MDP made it clear: they’re coming for every seat in the state that they can find in 2026. “From school boards to city mayor offices,” the party wrote, “With your support, we’re going to make sure no Republican goes unchallenged in 2026.”
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Why is 2026 such a critical election year? Because every major statewide office is on the ballot. From governor to attorney general, secretary of state to U.S. Senate, and every seat in the state House and Senate – control of Michigan’s political future is wide open, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
But don’t forget the local and municipal elections – because the Democrats sure haven’t. In fact, your local school board, as well as city and county commission races, often impact your daily life even more than state elections do. And those appear to be what the MDP is concentrating on.
Michigan Dems hard at work on 2026 election.
In their email, the Democrats say they are launching a massive recruitment and training effort targeting more than 700 local offices.
And yes, they want your money. In bold letters, the email appeals for donations to invest in their statewide campaign. Say what you will, but the Dems have a game plan, a message, and an inbox full of donation links to help accomplish their goals. They are actively focused on a general election that is only about 66 weeks away.
Where is the MIGOP?
What exactly is the Michigan Republican Party doing in the lead up to the 2026 elections? Great question – because from the outside, it looks like not much. They don’t appear to be emailing their voters who sign up on their website and they’re not making the rounds in the media to talk up the critical 2026 election and their candidates. If they didn’t have social media sites, you wouldn’t even know that they existed.
And they’re definitely not responding to our media inquiries to find out what they are doing.
Who is in charge?
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The Michigan GOP chair is Jim Runestad who is also busy being a state senator representing White Lake. Elected in February of 2025 by the party’s precinct delegates, Runestad beat out former party co-chair Meshawn Maddock and former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Joe Cella.
What is their job?
The main job of the MIGOP is to elect Republicans to office across the state and promote the Republican platform. To that end, they need to be involved in candidate support and recruitment, fundraising, voter engagement, party messaging and organizing the party infrastructure. In other words, build a political machine that wins elections in Michigan.
Michigan GOP appears to be in hibernation as 2026 election season heats up.
But what has Runestad been doing to make sure Republicans win in 2026? If you go to the MIGOP website, there are no events or fundraisers listed aside from their September Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference – and no recent press releases. And if you Google “MIGOP,” you won’t find much of anything going on. What is their strategy for the 2026 elections? Who knows. They haven’t posted a press release since April.
The silence is especially awkward considering the 2026 election season is already warming up and Democrats are loudly organizing and asking their grassroots supporters for help. The contrast couldn’t be sharper: One party is aggressively plotting a statewide takeover while the other is giving off strong “out to lunch” energy.
Where are the emails?
If you visit the MIGOP website, there’s a clear option to sign up for email updates. Despite our news organization submitting information multiple times, we’ve yet to receive a single email. However, several precinct delegates across the state say they are getting messages from Runestad, possibly showing that emails could be limited to internal communications within the party. One even suggested that making a donation may be the secret to unlocking the inbox.
What does the future hold?
While Democrats build an aggressive ground game and gear up for a statewide sweep, the Michigan Republican Party remains mostly invisible. But with 2026 fast approaching, others in the Republican Party are beginning to fill the void. In Part 2, which will be published on Monday, July 28, we look at who’s stepping up, where the money’s going, and how Trump and the DeVos network might be doing the Michigan GOP’s job for them.
