MIRS Insider Results: 60% Of Insiders View Hall's Job Performance Favorably; 2 of 3 View Puri's Negatively

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 05/27/2025) What a difference two years can make.

In 2023, then-House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) was the only legislative quadrant member to have a negative job approval rating among Lansing insiders.

This year, Hall, the speaker of the House, is the only quadrant leader to not have a negative rating in the MIRS Insider Survey conducted by EPIC-MRA of more than 600 people whose job involves following state government.

Hall's job performance numbers flipped from 42% positive/58% negative in 2023 to 60 percent positive/40 percent negative, while the other leaders flipped for the worse.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) went from 69% positive/31% negative in 2023 to 41% positive/59% negative in 2025.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton) went from 56% positive/44% negative in 2023 to 48% positive/52% negative in 2025.

House leadership post saw the biggest flip. Two years ago, then-House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) had a 76% positive/24% negative job approval rating. This year, House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) was at 32% positive/68% negative.

MIRS has asked its political insiders in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 their opinion on legislative leaders' job performance. This is the first year that three of the four legislative leaders' job performance was viewed negatively. Puri's positive numbers are the lowest of any leader.

Hall told MIRS that he's not trying to cater to Lansing insiders, but he respects that “even Lansing insiders and the establishment” want government to come back to work. They see value in having a road-funding plan that doesn't include raising taxes, he said.

“They care about roads, bringing government workers back and having safe communities and I think they respect me for that, even if we don't agree on everything,” Hall said.

The Speaker has consistently been tough on Puri's job performance. Tuesday, he noted that the Leader had previously signed a report in support of school safety initiatives only to vote against some of the reforms brought up for a vote on the House floor.

“They should do good work, and they'll probably see a good approval rating,” said Hall, adding that he's heard others laugh about Puri's numbers once they were released on the MIRS Monday podcast.

For his part, Puri says the poll's respondents aren’t the people that need the most help from Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and House Republicans.

“Being popular amongst a group of people whose job it is to listen to you speak is very, very different than actually getting a budget done on time and showing up for the millions of Michiganders who are counting on us,” Puri said.

Puri said his caucus has an ability to connect with Michiganders in a way that Hall’s caucus isn’t, by hosting town halls and coffee hours rather than rubber-stamping policies coming out of Washington D.C.

“Matt Hall and the Republicans are taking a very unserious approach to governing this term. We’re seeing them continue to put up bills that are laden in cultural wars that aren’t really solving any problems that exist and there is no path to actually fostering an environment for them to govern,” Puri said.

Puri said House Democrats, on the other hand, have a great rapport with Senate Democrats and the Governor’s office. He said he has a great relationship with Brinks, but since she’s not a reporter sitting at his press conferences or President Donald Trump, Hall isn’t interested in talking to her.

“He’s just taking a very unserious approach to his role,” Puri said. “I’m not sure if it’s a strategy or if it’s just lack of a plan. He is someone that obviously likes to hear himself talk. It’s very clear that he is more interested in political theater and the ‘Matt Hall Show’ than actually putting on his big boy pants and getting the tough work done,” Puri said.

On his first five months as minority leader, Puri said it’s nothing like he had envisioned, but it’s been a tremendous professional growth opportunity.

In terms of other job approval numbers, 53% of those surveyed viewed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as either doing an excellent or pretty good job. The remaining 47% ranked her as doing a fair or poor job. In 2023, 66% gave her positive review. In 2021, it was 51%. In 2019 it was 67%.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II had a 46% positive job performance rating, the first time he's been under 50%. In 2023, his positive job performance number was 64%. In 2021, it was 54%. In 2019, it was 61%.