Spectators at the University of Michigan football game against Texas on Saturday will be reminded of a different rival before the game: Ohio State.
At the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an aerial banner paid for by the Democratic National Committee will read: “JD Vance
From the tailgates until kickoff, fans at four separate college football games in battleground states on Saturday will see aerial banners paid for by the Democratic National Committee, according to details first shared with CBS News.
The trolling by the DNC comes as they look to keep the election front-of-mind for battleground state voters, particularly younger voters.
Other banners about Project 2025 will fly over the University of Georgia vs. Tennessee Tech and the Pennsylvania State vs Bowling Green games. At the University of Wisconsin vs. South Dakota game in Madison, Wisconsin, the banner will say: “Jump Around! Beat Trump + Project 2025,” referencing the football team’s fourth-quarter tradition.
“The DNC is reaching voters where they are,” DNC spokesperson Abhi Rahman told CBS News. “These banners carry a message that resonates with fans and reminds them that the most important contest is still to come in November.”
Trump and his campaign have sought to distance themselves from Project 2025, though a CBS News analysis has found hundreds of its proposals match Trump’s past and proposed campaign promises.
Advertisement
Vance has alluded to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry during his own campaign stops in Michigan.
“To my Ohio brethren, guys, we gotta win Michigan. That’s the most important thing this election cycle,” he said at a July event in Grand Rapids.
Other outside political groups are also looking to tap into the intersection of college sports and politics.
NextGen America, a non-partisan youth voter engagement organization, is paying hundreds of student-athletes in the battleground states to get them to use their platforms to encourage others to vote.
The payment makes them one of the first political organizations to utilize the “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) ruling that enables athletes to monetize their personal brand.
Advertisement
“Sports is a fantastic way of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist of the nation,” NextGen America Vice President of Communications Antion Arellano told CBS News.
The battle over the young vote
Sustaining the support President Biden received from college-aged voters in 2020 is key for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
In 2020, Mr. Biden easily garnered more support from voters 18 to 24 years old than former President Donald Trump (65%) as well as those between 25 to 29 (54%), according to a CBS News exit poll. Voters under 30 years old made up 38% of new voters in that election, according to the Pew Research Center.
But comparatively, younger voters turn out at significantly lower numbers than older voters.
Voter turnout in the 2020 elections for those between the ages of 18 to 24 was just 51.4%, compared to 76% for those between 65 to 74 years old, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was an increase from 2016 when 46.1% of those between 18 and 29 years old turned out to vote.
Advertisement
Both candidates are being backed by college outreach programs.
Turning Point USA, an organization founded for outreach to young conservative voters, has hosted Trump and Vance at multiple events.
The group said they’ve focused on outreach to Greek life on Arizona and Wisconsin campuses, in addition to having booths at tailgates during college gamedays. Turning Point USA’s founder, Charlie Kirk, also plans to go to over 22 campuses in swing states. Some of his visits so far to Arizona and Wisconsin have been open debates with students, and the organization says it has led to hundreds of new voter registrations.
Earlier this month, the Harris campaign launched a “Back-to-School” campaign targeting 150 college campuses in the battleground states with social media and campus newspaper ads, visits from surrogates, as well as a doubling of its staff dedicated to youth engagement. They’re also running ads during college football games this fall.
Likely voters under 30 years old heavily lean towards Harris, according to an August CBS News poll. There has also been a 175% increase in young Black women registering to vote since the vice president became the nominee, according to data firm TargetSmart.
Advertisement
But young voters were also the group with the lowest marks in terms of saying they “definitely” will vote in November, according to the CBS News poll.
Engagement with social media influencers and content creators has also been frequent this cycle. The Democratic National Convention credentialed more than 200 influencers to attend in person, with some interviewing Harris or her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Trump himself has appeared on multiple podcasts or streaming shows geared toward younger audiences.
Earlier this summer, he appeared on internet celebrity Adin Ross’ stream. The appearance was panned by Democratic critics who pointed to Ross’ show hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes, as well as his ties to social media influencer Andrew Tate, who has faced allegations of human trafficking with minors.
“Make the move now, all you young people,” Trump told viewers on Ross’ show.
Advertisement
Aaron Navarro
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter covering the 2024 elections. He was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.
Michigan State football has found a new prospect in the 2025 recruiting class to extend an offer to. Notably, so late in the cycle, any new offer holds major significance.
Chaney was once committed to Georgia State, but has backed off of that commitment. After a solid fall, he has received offers from Eastern Michigan, Oregon State and USF, along with MSU to go along with his initial crop of offers.
A 6’1″, 185 pound cornerback, be on the lookout for Michigan State to potentially make a move here if things do not work out with a couple of other prospects.
As the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates amid a cooling job market, the economy is poised for moderate growth in Michigan and nationally over the next two years, according to University of Michigan economists.
The national economy is projected to grow 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 with the unemployment rate averaging 4.2%, while growth may ease slightly in the near future due to a slowing labor market, the UM economists said in a U.S. Economic Outlook for 2025–2026.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s economy has slowed since spring, with heightened uncertainty due to the recent elections, the economists wrote in a Michigan Economic Outlook for 2025–2026. Both reports were written by Jacob T. Burton, Gabriel M. Ehrlich, Kyle W. Henson, Daniil Manaenkov, Niaoniao You and Yinuo Zhang.
“The U.S. economy has gone through times of great uncertainty before and emerged intact,” the economists wrote. “We are projecting that both Michigan and the nation will follow that path over the next two years.”
Advertisement
Job growth in Michigan is expected to decline in the second half of the year, but grow moderately in 2025 and 2026.
“We believe the election results have amplified the uncertainty surrounding Michigan’s economic outlook,” the economists wrote. “We project a small dip in Michigan’s job count in the back half of 2024 to give way to moderate job gains in 2025 and 2026, but the outlook depends critically on uncertain policy decisions and the subsequent market responses.”
The economists expect job growth in the state to be strongest in health care, leisure and hospitality and government, while sectors including manufacturing and professional services are expected to remain stable.
“We are projecting the state economy to return to growth over the next two years as easier monetary policy and another round of tax cuts boost medium-term growth,” the economists wrote. “Michigan adds 19,000 payroll jobs next year and an additional 26,700 in 2026. The unemployment rate in Michigan is projected to fall from 4.6% in late 2024 to 4.3% by the end of 2026.”
The Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor metro areas showed a downward trend in job growth, with Detroit and Grand Rapids seeing 0.1% growth during the past year. Ann Arbor saw relatively stronger job growth of 1.3% as of September, according to the report. Metro-level data for October was not available for the report, officials said.
Advertisement
The report attributes the underlying cause of the slowdown in Michigan’s job market as the Federal Reserve’s policy of monetary tightening to control inflation.
“Although the Fed has recently pivoted toward reducing short-term interest rates, we believe that real interest rates remain at a restrictive level and that the effects of the Fed’s past tight monetary policy continue to impact Michigan’s economy,” the economists wrote. “Indeed, in many ways, the national rebalancing in the labor market is precisely what the Fed hoped to engineer with its policy actions. Unfortunately for Michigan, our relatively rate-sensitive industry mix means that higher interest rates have taken a larger economic toll than nationally.”
The Michigan outlook points to stronger personal income growth, with per capita income increasing to $64,000 in 2024 and reaching around $68,500 by 2026, up 41% from 2019.
Inflation is expected to slow to 3.3% in 2024 and 2.2% in 2025 before increasing to 2.7% in 2026 due to new tariffs that the incoming Trump administration is expected to impose.
The U.S. and Michigan economic outlook reports follow the presidential election, which economists say will result in significant changes in U.S. economic policies. In the reports, the economists shared their thoughts on about the impacts of a second Trump administration.
Advertisement
The recent election of Donald Trump as well as the Republican majorities in the U.S. Senate and House will likely to result in a continuation of tax cuts Trump enacted during his first term, the economists said. Also expected is a sharp rise in tariffs on imports from China to take effect by 2026.
While rising tariffs on Chinese imports and tax cuts for corporations and individuals are expected in upcoming years, revenue increases from tariffs are unlikely to offset revenue losses generated by tax cuts, according to the report. This could result in slower revenue growth and a sharp increase in federal deficits.
“As the stimulative effects of the expected tax cuts dominate the drag from the anticipated new tariffs, we project quarterly GDP growth to accelerate modestly during 2026, reaching a 2.5 percent annualized pace by 2026 Q4,” the economists wrote.
The report notes that the Federal Reserve has started cutting interest rates after keeping them at a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% for 14 months. The rate was reduced by 50 basis points in September and 25 basis points in November, bringing it to 4.5% to 4.75%.
Additional cuts will depend on economic data, with the economists expecting another 25 basis point cut in December.
Advertisement
Looking ahead at next year, the economists say they expect the Fed to make four more 25-basis-point cuts in 2025 and reach a range of 3.25–3.5% by the end of the year.
“In our view, the temporary uptick of inflation related to tariffs will not prompt the Fed to tighten policy in 2026,” economists wrote. “We believe that risk management concerns related to the potential negative growth effects of tariffs, which played a role in the 2019 rate cuts, will balance the upside risks from new tax cuts, prompting the Fed to stand pat.”
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Quandre Bullock scored 20 points off of the bench to lead South Dakota past Western Michigan 80-76 on Wednesday night.
Bullock also contributed three steals for the Coyotes (5-1). Paul Bruns scored 18 points, shooting 6 for 13 (3 for 8 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Cameron Fens had 16 points and shot 7 of 9 from the field and 2 for 4 from the foul line.
Advertisement
The Broncos (2-4) were led by Markhi Strickland, who posted 20 points and six rebounds. Western Michigan also got 13 points and six rebounds from Owen Lobsinger. Javaughn Hannah also recorded 12 points.
Bullock scored 12 points in the first half and South Dakota went into the break trailing 34-33. Bruns’ 18-point second half helped South Dakota close out the four-point victory.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.