Susan Demas
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Flint

Susan J. Demas: We know who's going to win Michigan's primary. So let's talk about issues

As a Michigan pundit, I’m supposed to tell you that our presidential primary next week is going to change everything. I’m supposed to tell you it’s going to be a nail-biter.

Just like I was supposed to tell you last year that Gov. Rick Snyder was totally going to run for president (and win!).

There’s a often a bit of home-team cheerleading in political analysis and journalism, just as there is in sports reporting. That’s because we know the players and the game –– and tend to overestimate their significance. And, if we’re being honest, a lot of journalists love the idea of playing “expert” on national TV. (I’ve done it plenty of times, and yes, it can be fun).

Susan J. Demas: What pundits are trying to sell you (and won't tell you) about the Iowa caucuses

The Iowa caucuses were a victory for pundits. But many will continue to mislead about what's really going on this election –– or be oblivious to its realities.

OK, Monday night certainly didn't pan out for those predicting a coronation for our not-so-benevolent wannabe dictator Donald Trump. Iowa voters treated analysts skeptical of the billionaire Republican's true appeal to a healthy heaping of schadenfreude.

But, as usual, the two main storylines emerging from the Hawkeye State (where I lived for 10 years) reflected long-established conventional wisdom. The first is that Marco Rubio really won the GOP contest (not Ted Cruz, the actual winner) by beating expectations by finishing third (and almost defeating Trump). The second is that Hillary Clinton's near-death experience with Bernie Sanders proves she's facing a Herculean task in winning the Democratic nomination.

Susan J. Demas: Flint water crisis could propel Congressman Kildee to run for governor in 2018

He's a gravelly-voiced guy from Flint, a place nobody spent much time thinking about until last month.

But Dan Kildee has. He was born there. He was raised there. And he became one of the youngest public officials in the country when he was elected to the local school board at 18 (not dissimilar to the path followed by his friend, liberal filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore).

Now Kildee, 57, is Flint's congressman (succeeding his uncle, Dale, in 2012). Many Democrats had been talking up the younger Kildee for governor in three years.

But there were plenty who doubted he could win in 2018. Democrats traditionally like their nominees to hail from metro Detroit, where the big media markets are and so are the votes. (That's why many are enamored with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan running, although he's gruffly brushed off any speculation.)

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