This article originally appeared in The Detroit News.

The field is set: Bill Schuette. Brian Calley. Patrick Colbeck. Jim Hines. Gretchen Whitmer. Shri Thanedar. Even Abdul El-Sayed, though whether or not his name will be able to appear on the ballot remains to be seen. Michigan governor candidates are introducing themselves, they’re pulling stunts, they’re maneuvering with their activist bases, and they’re hoping to catch their groove heading into the spring.

A word of advice to voters and political observers; the stunts, the phony town halls, and the early digital ad wars are a mildly titillating sideshow, but they won’t make much difference come August — or November.

It’s Valentine’s Day and Michigan Democrats just aren’t feeling the love as Michiganders continuously “swipe left” on their candidates. 

The headlines have been harsh. While Brandon Dillon and the rest of the Michigan Democratic Party establishment seeks to coronate Gretchen Whitmer through dirty tricks and legal challenges to progressive darling Abdul El-Sayed – apparently they didn’t learn their lesson from the Clinton v. Sanders fiasco at the DNC - as their presumptive gubernatorial nominee, other prominent Democrats – led by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan – were actively trying to recruit a Whitmer alternative over concerns about her ability to actually win outside of a leftist enclave like East Lansing. 

It’s hard to believe how far Michigan has come these last 7 years. Jennifer Granholm’s “lost decade” saw double digit unemployment, massive tax hikes and young people fleeing the state.

This article originally appeared in The Detroit News.

Next week, Gov. Rick Snyder will deliver his eighth and final State of the State address. By every measure, the state of the state is stronger than it was during the governor’s first address in 2011. Michigan’s turnaround has been seven years in the making, and it didn’t come easy.

The speech comes at a critical time – at the beginning of an election year. This November, voters will go to the polls to select Snyder’s successor, a new state House of Representatives and a new state Senate. As Michiganians listen to the governor and reflect on how far we’ve come, they’d be wise to consider for more than a moment just what’s at stake this fall.

Michigan’s tax code is intrinsically linked to the Federal tax code. So, when the Congress passed its landmark tax reform late last year, they inadvertently created a $1.5 billion tax increase for families and workers here in Michigan. Legislators in Michigan could easily have implemented a quick fix to restore personal exemptions and returned to the status quo.

Thankfully, they chose to go further!