by Allie Walker, President, Truscott Rossman
November 4, 2026
I’m an independent. I left my party card in Washington, D.C., and today I lead a firm built on the idea that good ideas don’t belong to one side. So I watched last night’s returns less interested in who won than in what voters were asking for.
Michigan’s answer was clear. Democrats won the governor’s office, an open U.S. Senate seat, attorney general, secretary of state and both chambers of the Legislature. Jocelyn Benson won the governor’s race by about 8 points, and Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate race by about 6.
The campaign is over. The responsibility starts now.
When one party holds the governor’s office, the state House and the state Senate, there’s no one else to point to. There’s no divided government to blame for a late budget and no other chamber to stall a bill. Over the next two years, every result on roads, schools, costs and the budget belongs to the people voters just put in charge.
The same goes for the new majorities in Washington. Sen. Chuck Schumer has his work cut out for him uniting a diverse coalition of new political stars. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
That isn’t a warning. It’s the job, and it comes with three responsibilities.
Govern for the people who didn’t vote for you. This is how we avoid another extreme backlash in two years. About 46% of Michigan voters chose John James, and about 45% chose Mike Rogers. Their roads, kids and paychecks count the same. A statewide trifecta can pass bills without the other side’s votes, but that doesn’t mean it should stop listening to them. The same goes for the U.S. Senate.
Remember how fast Michigan corrects course. In the state legislature, Democrats won full control in 2022, and two years later voters handed the state House back to Republicans. This electorate isn’t loyal to a party. It’s loyal to results. For more proof, look no further than the county-by-county data comparing Trump’s 2024 margins in Michigan with this cycle’s statewide races.
Build on the common ground voters already found. More than 80% approved Proposal 2, which limits political money from utilities and large state contractors. Democrats, Republicans and independents agreed on how politics should work. The details will be litigated for years to come, but good leaders should take the vote as an invitation, not a footnote.
The responsibility doesn’t fall only on the winners. Republicans now lead the opposition, and their job is to offer better ideas, not just louder objections. A minority party that shows up with solutions makes the majority better and earns its way back.
Voters did their part yesterday. Now it’s on the people who lead, and on the rest of us to hold them to it.