Michigan Under Shawarma Law

Abdul El-Sayed wins, Democrats take control in Lansing, and our panel unpacks what Michigan's election results mean as part of a blue tsunami that crossed the country in the midterm elections... and what comes next on your Daily Detroit.

Jer Staes, Norris Howard, Chris Moyer, and Devon O'Reilly gather for a post-election roundtable on Michigan's results, the voters behind them, and what Democrats will need to deliver to keep that support.

Norris makes his case for why Detroit's support for El-Sayed shouldn't have been a surprise. Chris revisits what he missed in his pre-election outlook. And Devon shares what he heard in Dearborn, where enthusiasm for El-Sayed crossed some familiar political lines.

Plus: transit, money in politics, data centers, and why a winning coalition isn't a permanent one.

Then we close with something everyone at the table has opinions about: where to get shawarma around Metro Detroit.

On this episode:

• El-Sayed's win and the conversation around Detroit voters
• Dearborn turnout, representation, and voters who don't fit neatly into party categories
• Michigan's Democratic trifecta and the pressure to deliver
• Money in politics, data centers, and congressional races
• The panel's shawarma and other local food favorites

Feedback: DailyDetroit@gmail.com or 313-789-3211

Support independent local media: patreon.com/DailyDetroit

00:00 — The morning after: coffee, celebrations, and the museum millage
02:14 — El-Sayed’s win and Detroit’s vote
06:27 — What Chris missed: polling and the statewide shift
08:52 — Dearborn turnout and a coalition that isn’t permanent
11:03 — A Democratic trifecta: now comes the governing
13:10 — Money in politics, data centers, and congressional races
16:17 — Dearborn’s enthusiasm and the limits of culture war politics
18:44 — Keeping a broad Democratic coalition together
19:57 — “Shawarma law” and the panel’s best picks around Metro Detroit
23:05 — What’s next and how to support the show

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[Jer Staes]: Hello friends, welcome to your Daily Detroit. A very special post-midterm election panel edition for Wednesday, November 4th, 2026. I am Jer Staes, joined by our great crew, a full table with a full table of caffeine as well.

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[Jer Staes]: I see coffee cups all around to my left, none other than the Prince Brightmore himself, Norris Howard. How are you?

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[Norris Howard]: I haven't slept. Let's get it in!

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[Jer Staes]: Chris Moyer is sitting right across from me. How are you? You had a victory with the Museum Millage. Congratulations!

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[Chris Moyer]: Thank you so much, Jer. Thank you Norris, Devon. Yeah, this was this was great. And I got to spend time with you at that victory party, and then I got to hang out with Norris later in the night at the Michigan Democratic Party.

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[Jer Staes]: My first time ever at the Vinyl Society!

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[Chris Moyer]: Wonderful spot! Dennis Archer Jr.'s place in Paradise Valley. Uh, great to host a victory party for a museum millage, but also great to have a cocktail and hang out with friends.

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[Norris Howard]: Incredible spot.

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[Jer Staes]: One excellent Negroni is what I had.

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[Jer Staes]: Devon O'Reilly to my right, a Councilman in Dearborn. Mr. Friday, what a huge day for you!

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Yeah, I mean, well, we all won with the passage of the say yes to our story. It was great for a lot of reasons. So, it was victory all around in that regard. I had a Negroni yesterday as well, so.

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[Norris Howard]: Has anybody had a Negroni?

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[Devon O'Reilly]: It was the last, I'll tell you why. It was the last day for Negroni weather. We're done now, I think.

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[Norris Howard]: Yeah, you're right, you're right.

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[Jer Staes]: 'Cause my temperature level for whiskey and bourbon is like 60-65. We were over that.

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[Norris Howard]: You're right, you're right. It was so nice yesterday.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: It was so nice, so nice. But no, no parties for me. I had, uh, I had some celebratory Lagavulin on the couch, but that was about it.

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[Jer Staes]: Ooh, Lagavulin!

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[Chris Moyer]: Now, that's a winter beverage right there. A very cold-winter beverage.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: It's also, to me, it's also a celebratory beverage. Nothing beats a nice peaty Scotch to, uh, soak in, uh, the results as they were coming in.

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[Norris Howard]: I did have a victory cigar.

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[Norris Howard]: I splurged and bought an OpusX cigar.

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[Chris Moyer]: I saw that!

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[Jer Staes]: See, when you talk about Lagavulin and cigars, all I can think about is Nick Offerman.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Mm-hmm, yeah, right up his alley.

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[Jer Staes]: We've got so much to unpack. Let's just go down the line. I think everybody... I mean, of course the most important vote was the Museum Millage, but in fact...

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[Chris Moyer]: Yes! Yes.

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[Jer Staes]: But in fact, we should talk about this US Senate race where Abdul El-Sayed called his shot, won by seven points over Mike Rogers. There was so much that was real and not real, and I just... wow. A lot to unpack with this one. Norris Howard, why don't we start with you?

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[Norris Howard]: All right, I got three major points. The first major point I'm going to say is number one, I'm tired of being right and y'all not paying me for it, all right? I'm constantly within like one point of most of my predictions and I keep being right. You know, I called El-Sayed was going to do well in Wayne County. And, you know, what I love about this election, not just the wins in Michigan...

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[Norris Howard]: Because again, Democrats won up and down the ballot. And I'm going to say this, and I'm going to be very, very, very pointed when I say this, is that Michigan set so many firsts and people have not realized it. First Black Secretary of State, first transgender member of the state legislature...

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[Jer Staes]: Joanna Waite, friend of the show.

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[Norris Howard]: Friend of the show. Just setting the first Muslim senator in American history to the US Senate. Michigan is DEI. Michigan is woke, okay? Like straight up and down. But listen, the reason why I say that as number two is that we beat so much money...

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[Chris Moyer]: So much money!

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[Norris Howard]: ...in this election. So much dark money was spent in Michigan. So much dark money was spent here.

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[Chris Moyer]: Had they not spent that money, it might have been even more of a blowout.

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[Norris Howard]: Even bigger! And so so many people just said the money has no effect on us, we know our values, and that's where we're going to vote. And the last point I will say, as I called it and I said, Detroit is going to show up for Abdul El-Sayed. Wayne County is going to show up for Abdul El-Sayed.

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[Norris Howard]: And it did. 95% City of Detroit for Abdul El-Sayed. Democrats for Rogers? Astroturf, not real.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: I think that was confirmed. We were absolutely right on that.

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[Jer Staes]: And I think some people like threw away their careers on that one, right?

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[Chris Moyer]: Who are we talking about?

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[Jer Staes]: Well, and it's interesting because there's... and Norris, I want to talk to you as the fellow Detroit resident here. Does this change how we feel about Detroit politics? There's so much about division and splitting off these groups and animus when Abdul El-Sayed outperformed by percentage points, outperformed Kamala Harris!

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[Norris Howard]: Yes.

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[Jer Staes]: I mean, I was sitting in line when I was in line to vote. People were mad at Haley Stevens. They were mad. They said they got used, and they were like, "I'm not even... I am voting with anger because they felt like they got used," very much in line with what you were talking about.

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[Jer Staes]: I feel like it not only backfired, but also Detroit was in alignment and we need to rethink our political conversations.

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[Norris Howard]: Absolutely. Listen, I tell people all the time that, of course, Detroit is a staunch Democratic bastion. Mike Rogers was probably never ever going to really take a significant share of the vote in the City of Detroit.

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[Norris Howard]: But I think what is really important here to emphasize and to highlight is the fact that all of the rifts that people kept trying to put during the national conversation of Democrats for Mike Rogers...

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[Norris Howard]: Also, a big thing we got to talk about is the Jewish vote. 60% in Michigan for Abdul El-Sayed.

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[Norris Howard]: Once again, talking about was that actually a real rift or not? And if you got a plurality of that vote, how real was that movement?

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[Norris Howard]: You know, it once again shows... and don't get me wrong, I think majority of this election was just a referendum on Trump. I think 2028 will have some movement.

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[Norris Howard]: But when we're talking about specifically the City of Detroit, the miscalculation could not have been bigger.

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[Jer Staes]: Now, Chris Moyer, not to call you out, but you were the most bullish case about Mike Rogers. What did you miss?

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[Chris Moyer]: I think what I saw was years of underpolling Republican men, and that has given me PTSD in terms of can we really get an accurate picture of the election. Now, I was wrong. I was wrong.

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[Chris Moyer]: Who did we miss this time? We missed Democrats coming out. We missed young people coming out.

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[Chris Moyer]: After we recorded our podcast just a few days ago, that Happy Halloween podcast...

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[Chris Moyer]: The New York Times came out with a poll, and Nate Cohn from The New York Times talked about the possibility, and he showed an incredible shift to the left.

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[Chris Moyer]: All seven of the swing states showed Democratic victories in the Senate, and he said, "I still am not convinced that I have been able to accurately portray how left this electorate might be."

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[Chris Moyer]: But we wanted to make sure that we encapsulated what the last handful of electoral cycles showed us and that we failed to capture Republican men. Well, let me give you this.

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[Chris Moyer]: All 83 counties in Michigan shifted towards the Democrats compared to 2024.

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[Chris Moyer]: So the most rural Republican counties, small counties like Dickinson and Branch and St. Joseph's, Hillsdale County, all shifted towards the Democrats.

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[Jer Staes]: Hillsdale?!

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[Chris Moyer]: Hillsdale. Now, it didn't go Democrat, but the direction of travel... so El-Sayed lost it better than Harris did two years ago.

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[Chris Moyer]: Norris nailed some of those stats about the City of Detroit. But Wayne County, Harris only got 63% of the vote in Wayne County two years ago.

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[Chris Moyer]: Both Benson and El-Sayed got 70% of the vote in Wayne County.

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[Chris Moyer]: And then let's talk about Oakland County. Because there were some pockets, West Bloomfield Township, he increased his percentage up from 42% in 2024 to 46%.

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[Chris Moyer]: But El-Sayed still won Oakland County by more, with 56% of the vote topping Harris's 54%.

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[Chris Moyer]: This was a sea change across the state. Every place, everywhere, people were coming out to vote for Benson and El-Sayed and repudiate Donald Trump.

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[Jer Staes]: Yeah. Devon O'Reilly, according to Mayor Hammoud, the most votes cast in Dearborn history.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Yeah, there was a couple places, at least a couple places that ran out of ballots in Dearborn, so... Wow. I think this was huge, one of the biggest elections in Dearborn in a while in terms of turnout.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And, you know, we talked about it on the last show about how these are a lot of voters who actually either sat out or voted for Donald Trump in some cases last time around.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And so I think it just shows, thinking about where we're left in terms of this coalition, that voters are just not as monolithic as people who are in the weeds like us give them credit for.

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[Jer Staes]: Or what Twitter thinks.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Or what Twitter thinks. It's not like 50% Democrats and 50% Republicans. It's truly like 25-25 or 30-30, and then that 40 to 50% middle that is really willing to listen to people and say, you know, basically look at their lives...

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Look at their pocketbooks, look at their bank accounts, look at their gas, whatever it is, and say, "I don't care what letter is next to this person's name, I'm going to vote for this person."

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And so what we found is this really incredible, again, Democratic coalition. I think we shouldn't pat ourselves too much on the back and pretend like all of a sudden that the United States is this Democratic powerhouse now.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: It can all fall apart in a couple years. It depends on what Democrats do with it, because I think what we saw is people are willing to change. And no party should take their voters for granted.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And man, did the Republican Party take their voters for granted after 2024. I think macro trends, you look at, again, the gains that were made in the Arab population nationally, the gains that were made in the Latino population...

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[Devon O'Reilly]: Gone, gone. The young men, gone. I mean, the Republicans lost every single coalition that they had grown in 2024. And I mean, it's their own fault because they spent no time servicing them at all or doing anything to help them.

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[Norris Howard]: I think that's really important because I just looked at a stat earlier this morning. The youth vote, particularly young, young voters, were D+39 compared to 2024.

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[Norris Howard]: That is a generational shift that we saw.

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[Jer Staes]: I agree with the generational shift. I want to build on that because I get this sense that there is a group of voter that has to live in the real world, and there's much more focus, and there should be in the future, around policy. What are you going to do? What are your ideas?

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[Jer Staes]: Abdul El-Sayed was already making the rounds this morning with the TV stations talking about first three or four priorities when he gets to Washington. That didn't use to happen, right?

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[Jer Staes]: And I know from the feedback from listeners that there's this idea of like, okay, there is that majority. In fact, I do want to mention too that there's now a Democratic trifecta in the state of Michigan.

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[Chris Moyer]: Big one!

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[Norris Howard]: Biggest since the 1970s.

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[Jer Staes]: Yes, and that increases the expectations of the electorate here's the thing to deliver on policy, not the divisive issues, but focus on what can make things better because people are hurting out there.

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[Norris Howard]: Yeah, a thousand percent. And, you know, Jocelyn Benson is coming in and she's been championing something like transit.

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[Norris Howard]: And so with a Democratic trifecta, with her leadership, you got to deliver on something like transit. If this was a cornerstone of what you were talking about when you were on the trail and talking to people one-to-one, you got to deliver on something like that.

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[Norris Howard]: And I think that's also what we're seeing nationwide, right? Because again, we cannot ignore the fact that Democrats nationwide completely outperformed every projection.

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[Jer Staes]: Kansas?! South Carolina?!

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[Norris Howard]: Iowa, Mississippi, Alaska! Like these places that just were not even on the table, just completely outperformed.

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[Norris Howard]: And now the Democrats have the, I should say, honor of hopefully meeting some of those expectations, because it is going to be expected that they get whatever it is that they say done.

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[Norris Howard]: 'Cause they now have the power to override vetoes as well.

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[Jer Staes]: Now, gas prices of course were a big deal, but there's some other things I think I want to call out. One, Michigan Money Over Politics won with 81% of the vote.

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[Norris Howard]: Mandate.

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[Jer Staes]: Mandate on making changes with that.

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[Chris Moyer]: I'm sure Supreme Court Justice John Roberts really will listen to the will of the voter.

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[Jer Staes]: Mackinac Center already filed a suit.

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[Norris Howard]: Yeah, they did. But also in the sense of that you already have precedent in other states with that. And so eventually, yes, we know it will go to the Supreme Court. But even the conservatives, if they knock it back down to a states' rights thing, well...

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[Chris Moyer]: 10th Amendment versus 1st Amendment. And if you are a constitutional lawyer or somebody that likes to pretend to enjoy constitutional law, this is going to be a fun few years for you.

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[Jer Staes]: DailyDetroit@gmail.com, I'd love to talk to you about it on the air! But also data centers...

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[Jer Staes]: ...and that is something that resonated in states like Texas, which I will mention all of the border, the entire border along Mexico is now blue because of changes in the Hispanic vote.

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[Norris Howard]: Plus San Antonio.

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[Jer Staes]: San Antonio. But you have things like data centers, 'cause down in Texas they're talking about moratoria, other areas. There's a lot of unease around that and this visceral reaction against so much money being dropped into our political system.

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[Chris Moyer]: And Will Lawrence is now going to be the member from the 7th District of Michigan who I think animated his campaign. Not only did he do a phenomenal job knocking doors...

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[Chris Moyer]: ...to outwork the millions of dollars that Tom Barrett had to spend against him—and Tom Barrett was a centrist Republican who had often worked to break from Donald Trump...

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[Chris Moyer]: ...Will Lawrence outworked him, and he also had the signature issue of "I am not for data centers."

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[Norris Howard]: Facts. That's hard facts. Also out in West Michigan, Bill Huizenga lost his seat as well.

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[Jer Staes]: Christina Hines won John James's old seat.

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[Chris Moyer]: That's correct. And that is huge, Macomb County. But let me pause for a second here.

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[Chris Moyer]: If once upon a time, the two pillars of the Republican Party in the state of Michigan were Oakland County and Kent County, you had the third in Ottawa County.

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[Chris Moyer]: Ottawa County and Holland, Michigan. This is the epicenter of the Christian Right in this state.

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[Chris Moyer]: And Bill Huizenga, I think he represented that district very well. He's losing by 5,000-6,000 votes right now.

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[Chris Moyer]: It's looking very likely, what Norris has said, that he is going to lose that seat. And I talked about it on the show a few days ago, the very popular former mayor, state legislator from Holland, Michigan, Nancy DeBoer...

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[Chris Moyer]: ...is going to lose her seat to McCluskey out there. This is a sea change. Now what places are really safe? Ottawa County is an upwardly mobile economic community.

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[Chris Moyer]: What places are where the Republicans are going to go for their voter base?

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[Norris Howard]: And I want to ask even Devon about this, because what people have done, not just nationwide, but specifically in Michigan, is a wholesale sort of rejection of the culture war issues.

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[Norris Howard]: People have returned back to sort of the economic issues, the pocketbook issues, Devon, as you said, they look at their bank account and that's what they vote on. And so I want to ask you when you were out in Dearborn and talking to folks...

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[Norris Howard]: ...was that the energy when you were talking to people out there? Because from what I heard was that the culture war stuff had no effect whatsoever on how people were casting their ballot.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: No, it wasn't the culture war at all, but it was the culture. People in Dearborn were extremely enthusiastic about a populist...

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[Devon O'Reilly]: ...Muslim potential senator, someone with charisma, someone who represented them. I know it was less the pocketbook stuff I believe in Dearborn, because there was just the vibes, the culture.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: You know, you think about, I mean, on a very small level, you think about the enthusiasm from the Black community with Obama in 2008. This was Dearborn's version. I mean, he's not from Dearborn, but, you know, he's a son of Dearborn in that regard.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: But, you know, there was definitely some 2008 Obama vibes with "this is our guy." And I do know, what I will say, is I know a good amount of very fiscally conservative Republican Middle Eastern businessmen...

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[Devon O'Reilly]: ...people in the community who are absolutely Republicans in any other sense, but were all in for Abdul because he was one of them, and he was a populist.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And they didn't buy that he was going to somehow take money out of their pockets or he was going to be bad for their businesses. They didn't buy into any of that BS. And so I did see it wasn't the culture war, it was definitely like the culture is what carried him in.

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[Norris Howard]: And I will say at that MDP party, Jer, a lot of things that I overheard, one of the common refrains, especially towards the end of the night where people were saying, "I have not felt this way since '08."

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[Chris Moyer]: Yes.

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[Norris Howard]: "Since Obama was elected, I've not felt this way. I feel hopeful now for the future," and that is crazy.

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[Chris Moyer]: I think it's very important that we as a... the Democrats as a party also recognize that for every Abdul El-Sayed, there is an Annie Andrews that just got elected in South Carolina.

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[Chris Moyer]: For every Troy Jackson in Maine, there's an Adam Hamilton in Kansas. And who knows, do I think that South Carolina and Kansas are long-term in the Democratic column for Senate seats? Probably not.

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[Chris Moyer]: But for six years, it will be incumbent upon the Democrats to balance the various different perspectives of the party.

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[Chris Moyer]: And purity tests are the way to really rain on the parade of a movement.

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[Chris Moyer]: I get it. The energy is all with somebody like Abdul. That is phenomenal. If you went to the party last night, yes, more people voted for Jocelyn Benson than Abdul, but all of the people that were at the Michigan Democratic Party were there because they were inspired by Abdul and that type of intellectual travel.

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[Norris Howard]: Yep.

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[Chris Moyer]: And at the exact same time, to maintain that travel, there has to be some degree of compromise and grace. Grace is the perfect word for it, to allow for a South Carolina Democrat, a Kansas Democrat, a Texas Democrat.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And grace. Grace.

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[Norris Howard]: A Texas Democrat!

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[Jer Staes]: All right. Now that Michigan is in Shawarma Law...

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[Norris Howard]: Yes. Delicious.

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[Jer Staes]: A delicious faith that we have. I would like to ask people their recommendations for where they are going to practice that in the next week.

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[Jer Staes]: I want to share one from producer Cheyenne, The Pita Cafe over in Oak Park is one that she wanted to make sure that we shouted out. We'll go around the table. Norris Howard?

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[Norris Howard]: For me, I'll give you one in the city. Obviously, my Big Fat Shawarma right down here, 3rd Street. Super customizable, prices are kind.

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[Norris Howard]: Al Ameer, which has multiple locations around Wayne County. Al Ameer is like where I go when I'm like, "I want to eat good." Al Ameer is the spot for me. I usually get the lamb shawarma or the chicken shawarma.

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[Norris Howard]: And as Abdul says, if the lettuce is in the shawarma, not sure if it's shawarma.

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[Chris Moyer]: Well, I'm here to announce the bad food brotherhood here. So now we get to live in a community where we have great food like shawarma. I'm going to give you three here. One in Hamtramck, Boostan...

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[Jer Staes]: Yes!

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[Chris Moyer]: Just so quality and so affordable. Great place to go at any time of day or night. Then in Dearborn, I love the Dearborn Meat Market. It's phenomenal.

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[Chris Moyer]: I think that's a great place, frequented by Mayor Hammoud as well. And then often times I find myself meeting Oakland County friends in Ferndale at Anita's Kitchen.

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[Chris Moyer]: And I just love that place. All I can say is bring back the tomato kibbeh, please, please!

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[Norris Howard]: Anita's Kitchen is great, but I usually get the lamb burger, so I never really get the shawarma.

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[Jer Staes]: There is an Anita's Kitchen in the city, right downtown.

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[Norris Howard]: That's right, downtown. It's open mostly for lunch right there on Griswold, Griswold and Larned.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: So yeah, I want to shout out a couple. Our mayor, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, he loves to talk about Tuhamas Shawarma over on Warren Avenue in East Dearborn. They are really, really good.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: It's an embarrassment of riches where I live. But I know Amo Sammys, which is over in the canteen by Fairlane Mall. They do it really different.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: They have a really interesting style where they kind of glaze and spice and then flat press the shawarma, so you get this crispy, oily outside. It's very rich.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: They have a version where they throw fries and coleslaw in, which I don't know how certain people feel about that, but it is pretty tasty.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: And for me, which is close to my house, is Malek Al-Kabob is really, really good. They have great shawarmas, their lamb shawarma is particularly good.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: If you really feel fancy, they have lamb chops that are just unbelievable. But if we're going with shawarma, they do a really good job there as well.

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[Jer Staes]: I have been to Malek, it is amazing. I plan on reviewing Amo because it is the one Dr. Abdul El-Sayed says is his favorite.

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[Jer Staes]: So I'm going to review that for the newsletter.

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[Chris Moyer]: Senator-elect!

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[Jer Staes]: Senator-elect! That's right. Got to get the terms right. All right, we are done for today. As always, if you've got questions, thoughts, things you want us to unpack...

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[Jer Staes]: I think we need to bring this group back together from time to time.

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[Norris Howard]: Whenever there's elections and data and policy...

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[Devon O'Reilly]: You know what, we got to come back and talk about what's next. I think that's important.

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[Chris Moyer]: Everybody's taking a little bit of a break today, but the transition has already started in earnest for all of these seats.

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[Chris Moyer]: And understanding where Michigan is headed because of the consequences—elections have consequences, that famous line.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: There will be consequences to this, and we should talk about it, absolutely.

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[Jer Staes]: So I would love your feedback. DailyDetroit@gmail.com or 313-789-3211.

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[Jer Staes]: You know another reminder that these episodes need your local support. patreon.com/DailyDetroit. Local media, the way we're able to have these kinds of conversations...

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[Jer Staes]: ...is because we don't care about the algorithms. We're not trying to rage bait. We're trying to inform, we're trying to lift up the community, bring people together...

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[Jer Staes]: ...and talk honestly about how we feel and our opinions and what's happening out there. So if you want to support this kind of work, join us as a member on Patreon. patreon.com/DailyDetroit. We'd really love to have you. We've got bonuses, we've got some cool stuff coming as well. Thank you so very much ahead of time. With that, I am Jer Staes.

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[Norris Howard]: I'm Norris Howard.

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[Chris Moyer]: I'm Chris Moyer.

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[Devon O'Reilly]: I'm Devon O'Reilly.

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[Jer Staes]: Thank you so much for listening. Remember that you are somebody, and we'll see you around Detroit.