A major lobbying group is reportedly playing a significant role in Michigan’s US Senate race—but many voters may not realize it.

As The ’Gander’s Kyle Kaminski reports, it’s all centered on fundraising tied to a Democratic candidate, and how support from outside groups has been routed through channels that obscure its origins.

Keep reading for the full details.

Then, we take a look into Michigan’s failing wholesale cannabis tax.

Inhalers, insulin would be fully covered by insurance under proposed Michigan bill (IPR): Michigan Senate Democrats have introduced legislation that would eliminate copays for insulin, prescription inhalers, and epinephrine, requiring health insurers to cover the full cost of those medications. While supporters say the bills would make life-saving treatments more affordable for families, similar healthcare affordability measures have struggled to advance in the Legislature.

Student literacy bills moving through Michigan legislature (Chalkbeat Detroit): A Michigan House committee has approved a package of literacy bills that would require science-of-reading training for new teachers, mandate literacy instruction training for all K-5 educators, and ensure every school has at least one teacher trained to support students with dyslexia. The package is now in the full House.

MI lawmaker proposes year-long data center moratorium (Michigan Advance): Republican state Sen. Jim Runestad has introduced legislation to pause new data center projects in Michigan for one year, arguing the state needs more time to study potential impacts on energy costs, farmland, and local communities. The proposal comes as major AI data center developments expand across the state. A similar bill package has been introduced in the state House.

(The ‘Gander TikTok)

There is a powerful lobbying group that has pumped millions of dollars into Michigan’s US Senate race, and they almost figured out how to do it without leaving fingerprints. The group is called AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The candidate they’re backing is Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens. And the reason it’s not front-page news? It’s because the whole thing is specifically designed so that nobody finds out.

Here’s the deal: AIPAC has openly backed Haley Stevens for years. After she won her last congressional race, she thanked AIPAC and the pro-Israel community.

Stevens has described herself as a passionate Zionist, saying that Israel “comes to her in her dreams.” So, when Stevens launched her US Senate campaign this year, AIPAC wanted in. The problem? Their brand has become pretty toxic in the eyes of many voters, especially in a state like Michigan, where Arab American and progressive voters have made opposition to the war in Gaza a defining issue. So, AIPAC found another way in.

According to a recent Detroit News investigation, AIPAC has been quietly steering donors to Stevens through a payment platform called Democracy Engine, a pass-through processor that transmits the money directly to her campaign, without AIPAC’s name ever appearing in the paperwork. It’s legal, it’s a loophole, and it appears to have worked. On top of that, a mystery group with no public filings reportedly dropped another $5.3 million in TV ads, boosting Stevens across five Michigan media markets. AIPAC says it has no affiliation with that group, but nobody knows who’s actually paying for it.

So what? Well, a pro-Israel lobbying group, that is partly funded by Republican megadonors, appears to be running a covert operation to put its preferred candidate into Michigan’s open US Senate seat. And the candidate they’re backing won’t talk about it, won’t say their name, and won’t explain why millions of dollars of her fundraising ran through a platform tied directly to that group. Michiganders deserve to know who’s paying for this race.

See the full story in this edition of so what, Michigan?

A new state wholesale tax was supposed to help fix Michigan’s roads. Instead, it’s breaking the cannabis industry—and the potholes still need to get filled. (Photo Illustration/Canva)

By Kyle Kaminski

For months, the cannabis industry warned state lawmakers about what would happen if they passed a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana: sales would fall, businesses would close, workers would lose jobs, and the state would collect far less revenue than projected.

Lansing didn’t listen. So, here we are.

A report released this month from the state Treasury confirms what the industry predicted all along. In the first three months of 2026—the first full quarter under the new tax—the state collected just under $34 million from its new wholesale levy, far short of the $105 million it anticipated.

And at the current pace, the controversial new wholesale tax could end up leaving Michigan nearly $300 million short on road funding this year—with no clear plan to fill the gap.

“This so-called road funding plan has failed exactly as the cannabis industry said it would,” Robin Schneider, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA), said in a press release. “Our elected leaders made the cannabis industry a sacrificial lamb in order to have the illusion of a road funding fix. In reality, the only thing they have accomplished is the decimation of a strong industry that served as an economic driver for this state.”

Want more Michigan cannabis news in your inbox? Subscribe to The MichiGanja Report for a weekly roundup of the state’s biggest industry news.

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By Abby Deatrick

Welcome to your weekly roundup of Michigan political events, protests, rallies, advocacy opportunities, and ways to take action statewide.

📅 Friday (June 12)

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan: Kalamazoo Public Health Fair – Volunteer Tabling (Kalamazoo, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.) — Volunteer at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan’s table at the Kalamazoo Public Health Fair to welcome visitors and share information about Planned Parenthood.

Michigan United: Juneteenth Resistance Summit (Westland, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.)
 — Join the Juneteenth summit focusing on six goals: Strategizing for sustainable social change, empowering voters and safeguarding the ballot, mobilizing and building community power, collaborating for maximum structural impact, protecting reproductive rights, and meeting the urgency of the moment.

📅 Sunday (June 14)

No Kings: Rise Up, Sing Out Watch Parties (Events across Michigan) — Attend a community watch party for ‘A Concert for the First Amendment’, a livestream event featuring Jane Fonda, Patti Smith, Bette Midler, Rufus Wainwright, Joy Reid, Wilson Cruz, Broadway Inspirational Voices, and more. Find an event near you. 

Novi Democratic Club: Flag Day Rally (Novi, 1-3 p.m.) — Grab your flag and join the rally for human rights and protest the Trump administration. 

📣 Have an event to add? Email Abigail Deatrick, The ’Gander’s state organizing coordinator, with details. Please send submissions at least one week before the event.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with stories from Kyle Kaminski and Abby Deatrick. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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