DETROIT – Michigan’s primary election system is apt to be confusing to those who live in Ohio, say, which combines its presidential primary with those for other contests in March.
Michigan, on the other hand, held its presidential primary in February, and will hold a primary for all other offices, from U.S. Senator to state representatives and local races, next Tuesday.
Does that make sense? Holding two elections definitely costs state and local government extra millions. On the other hand, it could be argued that having primary elections more than half a year before the main event is way too long and limits who can run.
Regardless, that’s how Michigan does things, and this year’s August 6th primary will be more important than it is in most years, and more important than many voters realize. This year, with the retirement of Democrat Debbie Stabenow after 24 years, the state has a completely open U.S. Senate race for the first time in a decade.
While Election Day is next Tuesday, Michigan now has early voting through this Sunday; visit the Michigan Secretary of State’s website (www.michigan.gov/sos) or call your local government clerk to find out where you can go. You can also still request an absentee ballot in person, no questions asked, right up to and including Election Day, and at last count, nearly two million people have.
Nationally, Democrats and Republicans are battling to win control of the senate, and that means lots of attention on Michigan. Indeed, that’s the marquee race this time. Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a 48-year-old congresswoman from a Lansing-area district, is favored over actor Hill Harper in the Democratic race.
Mike Rogers, a 59-year-old former congressman from basically the same district, is the heavy Republican favorite over another former congressman, Justin Amash, who voted to impeach Donald Trump. Sherry O’Donnell, a little-known physician, is also on the ballot, as is Sandy Pensler, a businessman who recently dropped out and endorsed Mr. Rogers.
Control of the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs too, and there are two open seats, both which had been held by Democrats but which could easily flip Republican. But in Michigan, there’s another vastly important contest that is mostly below the radar: Republicans desperately want to “flip,” or win back control of the state house of representatives, which the Democrats now control. 56-54. Democrats also won a narrow, 20-18 edge in the state senate, but those seats won’t be up for election till 2026.
Winning control of the state house isn’t just a question of bragging rights. In 2022, Democrats won control of every branch of Michigan government for the first time since 1982, and immediately began repealing GOP-backed legislation, starting with right to work. Should Republicans recapture the lower house, they will be able to block or frustrate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s programs.
How that will turn out is anyone’s guess, and may depend in part on who wins the presidential election in Michigan. Democrats won two years ago in part because the Republican statewide ticket was very weak, and all their candidates lost badly.
Look, for example, at Monroe County in the state’s southeast corner, a working-class and rural place that was once Democratic, but twice has given Donald Trump huge majorities. Three of Michigan’s 110 legislative districts include all or part of Monroe.
The 30th district, which includes most of the county nearest to Ohio, is heavily Republican; State Rep. William Bruck, who is running for reelection, got more than 63 percent of the vote last time.
However, the other two districts are much closer. State Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton) narrowly won last time; the district is mainly in Wayne County but also extends to Frenchtown Township. He will be opposed in November by Democrat Kyle Wright; neither has a primary challenger. In the 28th district, Republican Jamie Thompson, who squeaked to victory with 51 percent two years ago, faces a primary challenge from Beth Ann Socia of Flat Rock. Janise O’Neil Robinson is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Most of Monroe County is in Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg’s congressional district, a tiny portion is in Democrat Debbie Dingell’s district. Both are considered to have safe seats, and neither faces a primary challenge Tuesday; nor do their challengers, Democrat Libbi Urban, who will face Mr. Walberg in November, and Ms. Dingell’s Republican opponent, Heather Smiley.
Many counties, cities, and communities have local primary races as well, as in Monroe County, where there’s a three-way race for the Republican nomination for drain commissioner. It’s also important to remember that in many places, especially legislative races, the primary is often the only real race, since so many districts are completely dominated by one party or another.
This has been a chaotic and unusual election year, with a lot more to come. But if you live in Michigan, there is one thing you can do this week to exercise some measure of control over all this:
Vote!
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(A version of this column appeared in the Toledo Blade)
