Democrats sweep Michigan statewide races, win legislative control

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(The Center Square) – Democrats now hold a governing trifecta in Michigan after flipping the state House on election night.

“We did in fact ‘stick it to em!’” said Curtis Hertel, the Michigan Democratic Party chair, early Wednesday morning.

In the state House, Democrats are leading in 61 districts, compared with 48 for Republicans. One district has yet to report any votes. That gives Democrats a strong majority in the 110-seat House.

In the state Senate, Democrats are leading in 23 of the 38 districts, compared with 15 for Republicans. Several races remain uncalled, but the current results put Democrats on track for a potential eight-seat advantage.

Democrats also won the governorship, attorney general and secretary of state races, as well as both Michigan Supreme Court seats up for election. With more than 95% of the vote in:

• Democrat Jocelyn Benson defeated Republican John James in the gubernatorial race, currently holding a lead of nearly 11%.

• Democrat Eli Savit defeated Republican Doug Lloyd in the attorney general race, currently leading by more than 8%.

• Democrat Garlin Gilchrist defeated Republican Anthony Forlini in the secretary of state race, currently leading by nearly 11%.

Incumbent Justices Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood, both endorsed by Democrats, won reelection to the Michigan Supreme Court.

There were also two statewide ballot proposals.

Proposal 1, an automatic constitutional convention question asking voters whether Michigan should hold a constitutional convention, failed with just 26.48% of the vote.

Proposal 2, a citizen-initiated ballot measure that would establish additional campaign finance restrictions on certain utilities, government contractors, and individuals or organizations connected to them, passed with 81.32% of the vote.

Michigan saw historic voter turnout, with nearly 5 million residents casting ballots, the highest turnout for a midterm election in state history.