Michigan

Iowa's U.S. Senate race recorded the largest nationwide jump in ad spending between Sept. 28-Oct. 11 and Oct. 12-25, rising by about $22.77 million to roughly $64.59 million, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. That put Iowa fourth nationally in Senate ad spending for the period, behind Ohio, Texas, and Michigan, with outside groups funding about three-quarters of the total and spending tilting toward Democrats. The Cook Political Report has shifted Iowa's gubernatorial and Senate races, along with three of its four U.S. House races, further left this cycle. Analysts say the spending shift signals the battleground map moving from states like Georgia and North Carolina into redder territory as races near their close.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said at a Detroit Regional Chamber event that he isn't opposed to data centers broadly, but objects to deals he sees as lopsided, where companies receive large tax incentives while offering communities comparatively little in return. Evans recently vetoed tax incentives and a community benefits agreement for a proposed Google data center in Van Buren Township, citing a rushed process; county commissioners later overrode his veto.

Oakland County's Dave Coulter and Macomb County's Mark Hackel, appearing alongside Evans, said developers have failed to clearly communicate community benefits and often require nondisclosure agreements that limit public input. Coulter also warned of a potential saturation point leaving communities with vacant facilities. Clinton Township recently enacted a temporary moratorium on new data centers.

Michigan's open Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul el Sayed, vying to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters, has become a focal point in the fight for Senate control. Rogers is running a well-funded, high-intensity campaign—over $133 million in advertising and millions of door knocks—marking the most serious GOP statewide operation since 2014. Michigan hasn't elected a Republican senator since 1994, but polling shows a competitive race amid broader uncertainty about midterm turnout and Democratic advantages nationally.

If Republicans lose seats elsewhere, Michigan could determine whether the GOP retains a narrow Senate majority via the vice president's tiebreaking vote, making it one of the cycle's most consequential contests.

The Rochester Hills City Council unanimously approved a three-year, $183,000 contract with Flock Safety, despite vocal opposition from nearly 50 residents at the meeting. Councilmember Marvie Neubauer's amendment shifted oversight to the public safety and infrastructure technical review committee, requiring quarterly reviews of data usage. Supporters, including Oakland County Sheriff's Capt. Paul Workman, cited the cameras' role in solving two homicides and locating missing people, and noted deputies' searches are limited to template-based queries.

Critics raised Fourth Amendment concerns, data-sharing risks with ICE, and a pending investigation into a former deputy accused of leaking Flock data to immigration officials. The city currently operates 17 of a possible 20 Flock cameras. Elsewhere, scrutiny of Flock contracts continues: Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Indiana, have dropped the vendor, and Indianapolis is weighing a surveillance-regulation ordinance alongside debate over whether to cancel its own Flock contract.