Former Michigan Govs. Engler, Blanchard launch group to defend state's election system

LANSING, Mich. — Two former Michigan governors, a lieutenant governor and former congressman launched a group Wednesday to combat election misinformation ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The bipartisan group announced Wednesday is part of the Democracy Defense Project, an effort spanning several swing states to underscore the reliability of elections after widespread, unfounded claims of fraud in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

“It’s an information task primarily,” former Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who served under Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said of the group's effort. “But the fact that you have a bipartisan group of some stature, I think helps give us some degree of credibility as we do this.”

Cherry is joined on the board of directors for the group by Democratic former Gov. Jim Blanchard, Republican former Gov. John Engler and former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, who currently serves as general counsel for the Michigan Republican Party.

The effort comes after former President Donald Trump’s campaign and allies tried to disrupt the certification process in Michigan in 2020 and overturn the results.

Democratic President Joe Biden won the 2020 election in Michigan by 154,000 votes, or about three percentage points, over Trump. The outcome of the election has been upheld by bipartisan canvassing boards, several court rulings, dozens of audits and an investigation by a Republican-controlled Michigan Senate Oversight Committee.

But Trump, as recently as Tuesday’s debate, has continued to challenge those results, giving rise to the effort led by the bipartisan group of former Michigan leaders.

“When somebody surfaces with a claim the election was rigged or preordained or not accurate or can’t be trusted, whether they do that tomorrow or they do that the day after the election, we’re going to push back vigorously,” said Blanchard, who was governor from 1983 to 1991 following his defeat by Engler in the 1990 election. “We are not going to tolerate any nonsense here.”

Engler indicated individuals railing against new state voting laws, such as same day registration or expanded voting options, are wasting energy that should be put into getting people to register and vote early.

“Follow the rules and, for people who are unhappy, work harder,” said Engler, who was governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. “Elections are often won by people who work hard and get their voters out.”

Engler and Cherry noted there have been instances on both sides of the aisle where candidates who have lost have questioned the accuracy of the result. But the group noted nothing so far has rivaled the doubt thrown on the 2020 election.

Each of the politicians urged their respective parties and candidates alike to look ahead and focus on working toward a win, rather than dwell on efforts to discount the accuracy of the election before it’s even been held.

The effort, Engler said, is counterproductive for candidates that should be focused on winning votes.

“I would say, 'Go win the election,'” Engler said of his advice to Trump. “Study harder and prepare more for the debate. Talk about your policies and your differences and stay away from some of the rhetorical excesses. I think that would be much more productive.”

Bishop, who has served as general counsel for the Michigan Republican Party since January, argued the state party has moved away from a faction more animated by relitigating 2020 than of winning future elections. Bishop served two terms in Congress and was previously the majority leader in the Senate.

In January, former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra became chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, replacing former chairwoman Kristina Karamo, whose rise in politics rode on advancing unproven claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

“We had a group of individuals that assumed control of the party that did not have the same vision or believe in the same platform as the Republican party that most of us know,” Bishop said.

Bishop added, as the state GOP's attorney, he’d follow the rule of law and the constitution.

“This whole discussion about looking back and, as I said earlier, relitigating past elections is not something that is a common belief or desire of other members of the Republican Party,” Bishop said.