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Kalamazoo County, Michigan voters head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, with statewide, congressional and local races on the ballot alongside several funding proposals. Top contests include governor (Jocelyn Benson vs. John James), U.S. Senate (Abdul El-Sayed vs. Mike Rogers), two U.S. House districts, Michigan Supreme Court seats, and numerous school board, library and community college races.

Statewide proposals address a possible constitutional convention and new campaign-finance restrictions on utilities and large government contractors. Local measures include healthcare advisory committees in Kalamazoo and Portage, law enforcement and fire millages in two townships, and school bond and millage renewals across several districts. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.) sent a letter on Oct. 22 to ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and the conference's board, asking the conference to disclose its sports betting policies for employees, officials and others connected to its competitions, and to explain how it protects competition integrity. Patronis tied the request to the ACC's support for the Protect College Sports Act, a Senate-passed bill on NIL, agent registration and transfer rules, arguing transparency should accompany the conference's push for federal help. He requested a response before Congress returns in November. The letter carries no legal force, and the ACC's current betting policy and response remain undisclosed.

The request comes as the NCAA maintains its ban on athlete and staff betting after Division I schools voted in November to rescind a proposed rule change that would have permitted wagering on professional sports.

The NCAA has sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the Southern District of Ohio, challenging Executive Order 2026-04D, which let Ohio colleges grant a fifth season of eligibility to athletes from the high school class of 2022 despite the NCAA's age-based rule. The 39-page federal complaint asks a judge to declare the order unconstitutional and unenforceable, arguing it gives Ohio schools an unfair competitive advantage and undermines uniform eligibility standards nationwide. NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, warned that allowing states or courts to unilaterally rewrite eligibility rules would make fair competition impossible.

The order, issued in response to lawsuits from Ohio athletes excluded from a fifth year under the NCAA's five-years-to-play-five model, has already influenced related litigation: the Ohio Supreme Court asked for briefing on how it affects Borovicanin v. NCAA, the lead case on the issue. The NCAA also used the dispute to push Congress toward passing the Protect College Sports Act, which would codify its eligibility policy and shield it from antitrust challenges.

Republican Zac Haines and Democrat Cara Jacob, both political newcomers, are competing to represent Ohio Senate District 7, covering all of Warren County and part of Hamilton County, in the Nov. 3 election. The seat is open because incumbent Sen. Steve Wilson is term-limited. Haines, of Symmes Township, is CEO of a Blue Ash marketing agency; Jacob, of Montgomery, is a neurologist and professor at the University of Cincinnati.

The candidates diverge sharply on key issues. Haines favors continued income tax cuts, property tax relief tied to homeownership tenure or age, and lighter business regulation, including on data centers, which he wants governed by stronger transparency and accountability rules. Jacob opposes recent state tax cuts she says favored corporations, including the stadium subsidy for the Cleveland Browns, and calls for a property tax "circuit breaker," expanded homestead exemptions, and an end to tax exemptions for data centers. On housing, Haines emphasizes boosting supply through deregulation, while Jacob backs wage growth, limits on bulk housing purchases by investors, and expanded childcare access. Both say the state should better fund local schools and services.

California's High-Speed Rail Authority secured only one of the several legislative priorities it said were needed to keep the Merced-to-Bakersfield rail segment on schedule. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1425, letting the authority issue permits to utilities, local governments and developers on authority-controlled land, but broader proposals—faster environmental reviews, expedited court dispute resolution, sales tax exemptions on construction materials, and new authority to tap local tax revenue near the rail line—stalled or were never formally introduced. Local officials strongly opposed the tax-revenue idea, calling it a raid on funds needed for services and road repairs.

A separate bill from Sen. Henry Stern to let the authority spend more state climate funds outside the Central Valley segment died in committee, as did a utility-relocation bill from Sen. Scott Wiener. The authority and lawmakers traded blame over the losses. The project, now estimated to cost $126-231 billion with full buildout by 2040, depends on $1 billion in annual state carbon-auction funding that could shrink under pending climate rule changes, adding further uncertainty to its timeline.

Michigan Democrats officially nominated Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for governor and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks for lieutenant governor at the party's nominating convention in Lansing. Brinks faced no challengers and was confirmed by voice vote, setting up a Benson-Brinks ticket that would make history as the state's first all-woman governor-lieutenant governor pairing if elected. The ticket will face Republican nominee U.S. Rep. John James and running mate state Rep. Jay DeBoyer in the November general election.

Brinks used her acceptance speech to tie James to President Trump's tariff policies, while James's campaign called the Democratic slate the "most radical" in state history. Delegates also finalized previously endorsed nominees, including Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for secretary of state and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit for attorney general. Attorney General Dana Nessel skipped the event, citing concerns about antisemitism within the party. The general election is set for Nov. 3, 2026.