Even the folks who make electric vehicles in Michigan aren’t buying what Vice President Kamala Harris is selling.
“It could definitely cost us our jobs, and it already has cost a lot of people their jobs,” Doug, a former Democrat and union auto worker in Warren, told BBC.
Doug, who didn’t want to offer his last name for fear of reprisal from his union, told the news site he spends part of his days as a machine repairman at Ford working on EVs, but he would never buy one.
Doug and other autoworkers have also grown disillusioned with Democrats amid the rapidly rising cost of living, and pressure from union leaders to continue backing the party regardless.
“You must be a Democrat, or you’re totally exiled,” he said.
Doug, of course, is far from alone, with other Michiganders interviewed by the BBC who are equally skeptical of the Biden-Harris administration’s government-imposed transition to EVs.
“I don’t trust them,” said Warren resident Ruth Zimmer, 82. “I want it to be the way it always was, with a good, old-fashioned car.”
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The focus on the future of EVs is a top issue for voters in battleground Michigan, which relies heavily on the domestic automobile industry and the workers who support it. While the Biden-Harris administration focuses on implementing new emissions standards the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers argue are “going to feel and function like a ban” on gas-powered vehicles, former President Donald Trump has warned the move will “obliterate” the U.S. auto industry.
“That has just become a front message of Republicans: that these plans or hopes to electrify the vehicles are going to destroy the auto industry and take away jobs,” Jonathan Hanson, a lecturer at University of Michigan’s Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy, told BBC.
Recent layoffs from Stellantis and GM and research from the America First Policy Institute make it clear it’s more than a message, though the message is resonating.
“The Biden-Harris Administration estimates that, under the (new emissions) rule, conventional gas-powered vehicles could make up no more than one-third of newly built vehicles by 2032,” according to AFPI report, which highlighted how fewer moving parts in EVs translates into jobs lost.
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The report notes Harris previously sponsored a Zero Emissions Vehicles Act as a senator that would have required 100% of new car sales to be emissions free by 2040.
“If EVs rise to 67% of U.S. vehicle sales the model estimates that almost 123,000 net auto-manufacturing jobs will be lost,” according to the report. “If the government completely bans the sale of conventional gas-powered cars and hybrid vehicles – as policymakers like Vice President Harris have previously proposed – the model estimates 191,000 auto manufacturing jobs would be lost.”
The more conservative scenario would result in the loss of more than 37,000 Michigan manufacturing jobs, far more than any other state.
That reality has prompted the Harris-Walz campaign to push back on the Trump campaign’s warnings about the EV mandate, and to echo the 45th POTUS’ vow to preserve choice for auto buyers.
“It should just be your choice,” Harris’ VP running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, told Michiganders at a campaign stop Friday. “Nobody’s mandating anything to you. If you want to drive, like I do, a ’79 International Harvester Scout that is sweet as hell … knock yourself out.”
It was a similar message from Harris during a recent stop in Flint.
“Michigan, let us be clear: Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,” Harris said, according to National Review.
The situation has led to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters neglecting to endorse a candidate, despite internal polling showing a majority of members back Trump. It’s a similar situation with the Michigan Teamsters, though union leadership backed Harris despite a majority of members for Trump.
While leadership at the United Auto Workers union has endorsed Harris, Trump said during a recent stop at his Roseville campaign office that “I just saw a poll and we have 88% of the autoworkers.”
That’s largely because Trump has promised to “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” thereby “saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration.”
He insists EVs should be available for folks who want them, but has vowed to preserve gas-powered vehicles as an option for those who don’t.
Oakland University political scientist Dave Dulio told The Detroit News a July survey commissioned by the news site and WDIV shows “people in Michigan are more aligned at this point with Donald Trump than they are the Biden-Harris administration on” EVs.
The telephone survey of 600 likely general election voters conducted July 22-24 found 71% have no plans to buy an EV, while 24% would consider one for their next vehicle purchase, and 5% are unsure. The same survey found 56% of Michigan voters oppose the government using tax dollars to force a transition to EVs, compared to 35% who support.
Other polling shows 63% of Michiganders oppose a gas car ban, such as the Biden-Harris EPA standards.
Whether those voters will shift Michigan into the red in 2024 remains to be seen.
Polling from the Detroit Regional Chamber released in early October found voters are largely split on the EV issue, with Republicans, independents and rural residents skeptical they portend good things for Michigan, while Democrats are optimistic.
Trump, meanwhile, is slowly gaining in Michigan polls, with the most recent two polls showing him leading Harris by one or two percentage points, though within the margin of error, according to 538.