Inside Michigan’s AI Reckoning | AI On The Ballot | Episode 8

In Episode 8, hosts Bennett Iorio and Sanjay Puri break down Michigan’s pivotal Senate and governor’s races, and speak with two guests who’ve lived this fight from different sides: former Congressman Mike Bishop, ex- Majority Leader of the Michigan State Senate, and Tim Greimel, former Mayor of Pontiac and former Michigan House Democratic Leader.

🔑 In this episode:

🏭 Why Michigan’s auto layoffs are turning AI job displacement into a top-tier campaign issue

⚡ The Abdul El-Sayed–Mike Rogers Senate race — a rematch of one of 2024’s closest contests, nowcentered on AI and data centers

🗳 Jocelyn Benson vs. John James for governor, and what each candidate’s record signals on AI regulation

💰 Mike Bishop on ratepayer protection, tax incentives, and why he backs a federal AI baseline over a 50- state patchwork

🤝 Tim Greimel on why the UAW and the building trades have landed on opposite sides of the data center fight — and how he built a campaign endorsed by both

⚡ DTE Energy’s 7-gigawatt data center pipeline and what it could mean for residential rates by 2028

This is Episode 8 of AI on the Ballot, a weekly series exploring the 2026 US midterms through the lens of AI policy — state by state, race by race.

🎙 Hosted by Bennett Iorio and Sanjay Puri

New episodes every week. Watch the full episode on the RegulatingAI YouTube channel and listen on all major podcast platforms.

AI on the Ballot is a non-partisan program of Regulating AI, a 501(c)(3) organization. Appearances do not constitute an endorsement. All candidates in featured races are offered identical format and identical terms.

This program is produced in association with the GIE Foundation. 

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