GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kent County can (and likely, will) go a long way to determining which presidential candidate ends up in the White House. Each party has experienced a major moment in the last month, impacting local support and setting up for a November showdown.
On Tuesday, the Kent County Democratic Party spent the day setting up for its largest event ever: the Kent County Volunteer Fair, which runs from 6–8:30 p.m. Thursday at their headquarters on Fuller Avenue.
“We're really here to connect our volunteers to opportunities," said Linda VanWerden, the group's volunteer coordinator. "So many people fill out on their form that they don't know what they want to do, but they want to do something.”
Opportunities include canvassing, phone banking, voter registration or helping with social media like Alex Toren, who got involved in 2022.
“There's a lot of energy online, but it's time that we move the energy from the internet to in real life because that's how we win elections," Toren told FOX 17.
VanWerden said 350 people registered for Tuesday's event, but she expects about 400–500 people to show up, signaling a significant shift in attitude and enthusiasm.
“Four months ago, people were signing up out of fear. Like, 'We've got to win this,'" VanWerden said. "That all changed a couple weeks ago. Now, it's joy; it's excitement; it's energy; it's motivating.”
VanWerden said the Kent County Democratic Party has 1,500 active volunteers. About 700 have hopped on board since the start of the year, with more than 200 alone coming after Kamala Harris took over the top of the ticket July 21.
“The next day, our office was insane," VanWerden said. "People [were] coming in, saying, 'What can I do?' Donations, our memberships — everything has just skyrocketed.”
That includes people like Macy Whelock, who was in just her second day as a volunteer Tuesday.
“Well, this is my first presidential election that I'm able to vote in, and I would argue that this is the most important one," Whelock said. "I think my involvement has really been from wanting to get other kids my age to get out and vote.”
Kent County GOP has seen a similar spike.
“The Kent County GOP has never had more volunteers than in the last two years," said Executive Committee member Lance Elliott Griffin.
He said the organization had about 200 active volunteers, but that's changed significantly in just a few weeks.
“Our phone literally began ringing off the hook immediately after the convention and the assassination attempt," he said. "We're getting probably 40 or 50 calls a day.”
The Kent County GOP is preparing for a major event of its own, holding the Republican Kent County Convention of duly elected Precinct Delegates on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. at The Gilmore in Comstock Park. There, they'll elect delegates and alternates to the upcoming Republican State Nominating Convention on Saturday, Aug. 24.
Both Griffin and VanWerden recognize what winning Kent County could mean for the presidency and ensuing political cycle at large.
“The path to the White House is through the House of Representatives here in Michigan," Griffin said. "The more representatives who win, the more votes for Donald Trump and Mike Rogers and Paul Hudson at the top of the ticket.”
VanWerden said, "It's pivotal. I mean, we know we've got to win here in Kent County, and that's why I think everybody is stepping up to the plate. We know we could determine who goes in the White House, and so we are doing everything we can for every single vote.”
In the previous two presidential elections alone, every single county in the state voted identically in 2016 and 2020 except for two — Kent (360,000+ voters) and Saginaw (103,000+ voters).
Whomever won Kent County went on to win the state of Michigan and the White House.
Biden in 2020 had a six-point victory over Trump, and in 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by three points.
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