Michigan facts guide

Candidates for state office will talk about whatever it is they want to talk about. Here are the critical issues they should be addressing, and the facts you need to evaluate their campaigns.

Bridge Magazine presents this nonpartisan, easy-to-use guide about many of the facts and issues that matter most as the Michigan governorship, all 148 seats in the state legislature, and other statewide offices are all up for election in 2018.

Here are the 100 facts every Michigan voter should know in this crucial 2018 election year, in which the governor and every seat in the state legislature is up for grabs.

Quick facts on the state of education in Michigan

Some quick facts on the state of the Michigan enonomy

Some quick facts on quality of life in Michigan today

Some quick facts on the state of the Michigan government

If K-12 achievement in Michigan were a trendline, it is clearly pointing the wrong direction. By just about any measuring stick, the state is losing the race to educational excellence.

Some 1.5 million students attend some 3,000 public schools in Michigan. As academic performance has lagged, competing school reform proposals have sprouted like Michigan summer corn.

As student performance in Michigan has plummeted, one strategy where many elected officials, educators, business leaders and state residents agree is bolstering future student success through early childhood programs.

A commonly shared premise among economic experts: a well-educated work force is key to high-wage jobs and prosperity in the 21st century.

Michigan’s economy has long centered around manufacturing — especially autos. But reliance on a single industry produces boom and bust cycles.