GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — As the gavel has hammered down on the end of another year in Lansing, Michigan now looks ahead to its place as one of the most important battlegrounds in the 2024 elections.
At the same time, top officials are looking back on a year in which full Democratic control in Lansing has allowed the party to move quickly on its priorities.
It's been a session that's expected to have noticeable impacts on the ground in West Michigan, including Grand Rapids - home to the state's current and first female senate majority leader.
"Whatever we're talking about, whether it's a budget or policy matters, or, you know, complicated energy policy, I'm always thinking about what this means for families and children in my district," Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said.
Asked how the year would translate into on-the-ground impacts for locals, Brinks listed priority points including when lawmakers signed into law a record state budget that included both funds for Grand Rapids projects as well as resources to fund free breakfast and lunch for over a million public school children.
"I think about things like free breakfast and lunch and what that means not just for the bottom line for those families, but also making sure those kids have nutrition so they can be successful at school, setting them up for success for college and for work, eventually," Brinks said.
Some issues taken up in the last year hit even closer to home for some in the Grand Rapids area, including efforts to raise drinking water standards.
"I think about the bills we passed that will establish universal lead testing for young children and for babies, so that we know those kids - particularly in places like the 49507 zip code that had really high numbers of lead-poisoned children - for us to know that and be able to get them treatment early so that they can have that, again, solid foundation in life," Brinks said.
The senator also made mention of firearms reform passed by lawmakers, following a year in which guns were brought to schools in Grand Rapids multiple times in 2023 by students.
"Whether you're a parent of another student at that same school or you send your kid off for a playdate, you should be able to have that expectation of secure storage," Brinks said. "If there's a firearm, it's simply the responsible thing to do."
But as Brinks and her allies have moved quickly to work on their priorities, a Republican party that's been vocal over what they've seen as high spending and a state going in the wrong direction under Democratic majorities is now looking to retake key state and federal seats in Michigan in the year ahead.
One critical seat up for grabs: a spot in the U.S. Senate. Republicans have fielded multiple high-profile candidates to commit to retaking the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
"I think that's one of the challenges in politics generally, but especially in the Republican Party is a lot of folks who just go along to get along," former congressman and current Senate candidate Peter Meijer (R) said in November. "And people don't vote for somebody so they can just go and sit on their hands and, you know, tell happy lies while the truth is hard and difficult. I'm running because I am more than happy to have those conversations."
Other high-profile names include former congressman and former House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers.
"Leadership, to me, is important, and leadership means you're going to have to sit in a room with people you disagree with on many, many things," Rogers told 13 ON YOUR SIDE. "Can you get those folks to do something that's good for the country and good and holds true to your principles? I have proven it. And so, I think that is absolutely, critically important for anybody we send back."
With high name recognition following the 2022 gubernatorial race, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is also running among others for the seat.
Craig has aligned his campaign priorities heavily with former President and current Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
But between Craig and a more moderate candidate in Meijer - who voted while in office to impeach the former president - Rogers wouldn't say if he'd seek Trump's endorsement.
"Right now, I am so focused on being the best member of of this primary batch to get out of the primary to go for the general election," Rogers said.
He said, however, he believes it's time for a change for people in Michigan in President Joe Biden's Washington, as he seeks to center his campaign on issues including immigration reform, cutting government spending and his previous tenure in the nation's capital.
"As the proven conservative I am that's shown leadership in difficult times in Washington, D.C., who left it behind the way you're supposed to do and not be there forever, on my own volition. And so all of those things we're finding is talking to a whole different stripe of Republicans. And we're talking to independence. We've even had Democrats call our campaign and say, You know what, I want normal back. I'm interested, let's talk. All of that tells me that we're right messaging, right direction, good for the country. Let's get this thing done, and get started about getting things back on track."
Whoever wins the nomination will face off against the eventual Democratic nominee - a race commanded in large part so far by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin. And with presidential primaries in Michigan set for February, the specter of the 2024 elections grows larger by the day.
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