Michigan is ready for the Blue Wave
Before joining the Progressive Turnout Project team as District Director of Michigan’s 11th Congressional District (MI-11), Christian Evans worked at a small, privately-owned political consulting firm in Houston, Texas. He brings to the team previous experience running political campaigns and working as a legal assistant. As District Director, Christian puts to use the organizational and leadership skills he acquired while earning his Masters in Public Administration from Texas Southern University.
“The team here in MI-11 is phenomenal,” says Christian. “They really work hard day in and day out to create a genuine connection with each voter they come into contact with.” 
Located northwest of Detroit, MI-11’s strange shape – drawn in 2012 to benefit Republicans – can be attributed to the fact that the Michigan Legislature currently has unchecked authority to redraw Congressional Districts. This problem – gerrymandering – has become so significant in Michigan that a ballot proposal actually seeks to amend the state constitution in order to establish a nonpartisan commission that would become responsible for redrawing congressional districts.
The race for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District opened up in early September when the Republican incumbent, Dave Trott, announced that he would not be seeking reelection.
Democratic candidate Haley Stevens was born and raised in MI-11’s Oakland County, and she has a proven track record of promoting job creation in Michigan. As chief of staff of the U.S. Treasury’s Auto Task Force under former President Barack Obama, Stevens led “the team responsible for returning the auto industry to financial stability and saving over 200,000 Michigan jobs.”
Stevens’ priorities include affordable healthcare for all Americans, investing in public education, addressing the opioid epidemic, and passing common sense gun laws. She promises “to be a representative who holds regular town halls and has an open door to every resident.” In addition, Stevens is committed to bipartisanship and supports an end to gerrymandering.
An early October New York Times/Siena College Poll found Stevens leading the Republican candidate, Lena Epstein, 45% to 38% with 17% of respondents undecided. Around the same, Obama gave Stevens his endorsement and The Cook Political Report updated its rating of the race for MI-11 from Toss Up to Lean Democratic.
Epstein is a businesswoman with uncomfortably close ties to President Donald Trump, and she is supportive of his so-called policies. Fortunately, Epstein’s defeat seems all but certain, especially if you ask people close to the race, like Christian.
“Haley [Stevens] seems to connect more with the majority of the District who are blue collar working class people in the automotive industry,” he says. “She has represented them her entire career and she really wants to bring the middle class back into her community.”
In his role as District Director of MI-11, Christian says, “I wanted to create a team of people who really bought into what we are doing here at Progressive Turnout Project and become a working family. Although we’ve hit a few bumps along the road, I think we have achieved that and more – this experience has been one that I think we all will remember and cherish.”
“We worked hard to change history here, and win or lose I know we gave it all we had,” he says.
Whatever happens on Election Day, committed Progressives like Christian know that our fight is one without a finish line.
