OAKLAND INFLUENCE

Political observers have known in the past decade that Oakland County is turning bluer with each election. Now Politico has ranked Oakland as among the top 20 critical counties in the country when it comes to determining the outcome of statewide races and ballot issues, noting the it is a “hub of independent voters shifting increasingly left,”  thanks to an influx of a more diverse racial and ethnic population from neighboring Wayne County. The shifting political face of voters means that ex-prez Donald Trump’s endorsements will serve as “more of an anchor” than a boon in the 2022 election. Trump lost the county to Hillary Clinton by eight percentage points and the spread widened when The Donald went up against Joe Biden here, losing by 14 points (100,000 votes) in 2020. Politico says Oakland County will play a “critical role” in the gubernatorial race this year, so get ready for an onslaught of even more political direct mail, phones calls and tv ads heading into November.