(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/18/2022) (DETROIT) – As the rain sprinkled over Livernois Street, Sen. Marshall Bullock (D-Detroit) set up his Saturday canvassing spot. Bicyclists whistled his name as they passed, with R&B music flowing from speakers within their backpacks.
Bullock offered each a thunderous greeting, seated in a lawn chair upfront – comfortable and surrounded by a small group of friends. Although not everyone stopped by to check out his reelection campaign for the new 8th state Senate district, he did offer water bottles and brief moments of laughter while the sun crawled out.
"My superpower is people…like, I'm a relationship guy. If you come to that door, you're going to love me," Bullock told MIRS, explaining that his strategy isn't much different than the one he utilized in 2018.
In August 2018, Bullock ran as the underdog in a three-person Democratic primary against former Detroit Rep. Fred Durhal III and Detroit criminal defense lawyer Carron Pinkins.
Bullock was a noteworthy member of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's administration running in a Wayne County-only district against fellow members of Detroit's Black community. At that time, he had Duggan's endorsement.
This new district stretches into Birmingham and Oakland County terrain that has been home to fundraising honey pots for the Democratic Party. His opponent is a White suburban mom, who knows that fear of disenfranchisement will be natural among voters she's never served before.
Coming to her aid is official backings from the Oak Park and Ferndale mayors – areas that are new to both Democrats.
Michigan's new 8th State Senate district is one of several legislative districts that force a marriage between the Black-majority neighborhoods of Detroit and the largely white-collar suburbs of Oakland County. Bullock, the present-day head of the legislative Black Caucus, is up against Sen. Mallory Mcmorrow (D-Royal Oak) -- an assertive campaigner who's received unparalleled name recognition.
McMorrow was unwillingly drawn into a national spotlight after Republican Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) name-dropped her in a fundraising mailer, dealing out claims that Democrats wanted to "groom and sexualize kindergartners" and instruct that "8-year-olds are responsible for slavery."
The Royal Oak Democrat clapped back, stepping up on the Senate floor in April to say "I am the biggest threat to your hollow hateful scheme, because you can't claim that you are targeting marginalized kids in the name of 'parental rights' if another parent is standing up to say no."
Her speech gained viral attention, attracting more than $200,000 in campaign contributions within a 24-hour period.
McMorrow told MIRS her team is working really hard to take advantage of that momentum, specifically by aggressively fundraising into her "A More Perfect Michigan" political action committee (PAC) that is devoted to helping Democrats flip the state Senate.
Michigan hasn't had a Democratic-majority Senate chamber since 1984.
Simultaneously, Bullock said he understands wanting Democrats to make a historic win in Michigan, but wants to inform voters it'll be done at "the expense of representation."
"When we hit doors, the first thing I talk about is (getting) out on Aug. 2 to vote in the primary. The second is: are you aware of the redistricting and who will be your representative moving forward?" Bullock said. "I've seen maps that would have preserved Black representation throughout the state and still gave the Democrats an equal shot at winning the Senate."
Last year, the state's first-ever independent redistricting commission – which was approved by voters to streamline everyday residents into the map-drawing process – designed five majority-minority districts total, entirely made up of House districts.
The former maps had 17 majority-minority districts, with 10 for the state House, five for the state Senate and two on the congressional level.
As for McMorrow, she has also used her platform to share her experiences with postpartum depression as a first-time mom and active lawmaker. She continues to advocate loudly for abortion access as well, especially after Roe v. Wade was overturned earlier this summer.
Additionally, she offers a unique perspective on economic growth as the minority vice chair of the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee.
Oakland County communities have often celebrated their capacity for economic acceleration. It's been marked as Michigan's employment hub with nearly 690,000 individuals employed across the county. It enjoyed the status as once having the 12th highest percapita income across the United States when it came to counties with a minimum of 1 million residents.
Economic development can sometimes hold a different meaning in Detroit, as numerous community members fear rapid gentrification and the ongoing shortage of affordable housing.
The Detroit City Council made headlines last month after delaying a vote – for the third time, according to the Detroit Free Press – on a proposed $60 million tax break for Quicken Loans founder Daniel Gilbert, as his real estate firm Bedrock works on a Downtown development site that's been under construction since December 2017.
"There's a lot of frustration about this approach to economic development and not seeing the funds come back to the communities, especially the communities that are in this district, which is north and northwest Detroit and not Downtown," McMorrow said about the aforementioned Hudson site project on Woodward Avenue.
McMorrow described herself as being “a pretty vocal critic of the traditional approach to economic development,” leading to conversations where she's found much alignment with voters calling for improved access to housing, better roads and workforce development assisting the everyday resident.
McMorrow said her team is knocking on thousands of doors, has an "aggressive mail strategy," plenty of yard signs and is not buying any broadcast television spots like they did in 2018.
Furthermore, her and Bullock are competing as friends.
"It's nice. Marshall and I see each other at events and give each other a hug every time," she said, adding she's never seen Bullock do something she felt would be harmful to constituents. "I mean, there's absolutely no reason for me to go negative because it's just a difference in how we approach the job and what some of our issues are."
While knocking on doors in Ferndale on July 14, McMorrow asked a medium-sized group of volunteers to tell voters why they want her to win, seeking to cultivate a raw conversation between two neighbors as opposed to being between a ballot-caster and a politician.
However, when she did knock on doors, McMorrow was accompanied by her husband, Ray Wert, and 1 year-old daughter, Noa.
Noa chirped out "hello" to the different houses, waving her hands excitedly and wobbling behind her mom. Two sisters showed off their butterfly and unicorn plushies to McMorrow as she discussed education funding with their mom, inspiring Noa to engage with them in true "baby senator" fashion.
Meanwhile in Detroit, Virgil Smith Jr. – a previous Detroit legislator who's currently doing consulting work – said he's noticed that "suburbanites do not necessarily appreciate the Detroiters campaigning out there and vice versa – Detroiters don't necessarily appreciate the suburbanites coming in and campaigning in their neck of the woods."
"Sooner or later, people are gonna have to learn how to live with each other at least for the next decade," Smith told MIRS, describing this high-profile race as the great experiment. "Neither one of them are really aggressive with this campaign…unlike these state House races…these people are going at each other across Eight Mile – I can tell you some stories, up and down Eight Mile, east side to west side…these candidates are going at each other."
Smith came from a world of politics where "the gloves should have never been on," while Bullock and McMorrow are running solely off of the issues they can present the strongest – potentially making this unusual rivalry feel like the elephant in the room.
Adolph Mongo, a Detroit-based radio host, said regardless of the friendship shared between McMorrow and Bullock, he would still describe this Democratic primary as "cannibalism."
"The voters in those districts are going to be the losers, because one candidate represents suburban interests, and the other one represents city interests. There (are) no winners in this," Mongo said. "I'm one that says I want some hard-hitting, knockout punches…but this is not that kind of race. It's not going to be."
People like Mongo fall into a group of observers who want Bullock to be more aggressive in this race. Meanwhile, Bullock says "I don't know what that means…I don't know what they consider to be aggressive."
