(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/12/2024) On Nov.  6, 1990, then-Gov. James Blanchard and then-Senate Majority Leader John Engler went head-to-head in what would become one of the closest elections in recent Michigan history.  The winner of the race wasn't known until the next morning, when Engler beat Blanchard by a 0.7 percent margin and Blanchard conceded defeat.   

At the time, it was one of the most contentious races in recent Michigan political history. Today, Blanchard and Engler are joining forces through the Democracy Defense Project to promote election integrity. 

"We moved on and that was all," Engler said. "Jim Blanchard, I hope I properly thanked him at the time. Certainly, looking back, given current times, this was even more magnanimous than I thought."   

Blanchard said that, for as long as he has been involved in politics, he has known that Michigan's elections are "safe, secure and accurate results."   

"In recent years, it's become very upsetting to me and really disappointing that people would begin to challenge the legitimacy, the safety and security of our elections, not just in America, but in the state of Michigan," Blanchard said. 

Former Lt. Gov John Cherry (D-Flint) and former Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop are also involved in this bipartisan effort to restore faith in the election process.   

"The object is to be a resource to help assure people that information that they're getting is accurate, and where it's not, we call that out," Cherry said.   

He described the project as an "information task" and that the bipartisanship of the group "helps give a degree of credibility."   

Bishop said that despite the four of them spending a lot of time disagreeing about politics, they all agree on one thing: "Michiganders are fed up with polarization, not just in the halls of Congress, but in society as a whole."