Former state Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, is leaving the Democratic primary race for Michigan Secretary of State to run in the 3rd state Senate district.
The lawmaker told Michigan Chronicle Monday evening in a phone call saying he is most experienced and will have the most resources of any candidate running to represent the district that covers Detroit’s Eastside, Highland Park and into Oakland County.
Hollier in September ended his Detroit-based congressional district to run for secretary of state. He joined Black candidates Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist as Democratic primary candidates before dropping out. Edevbie exited the race last month, saying he expected Gilchrist to be the nominee.
He was endorsed by Wayne County executive Warren Evans to take on U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar in 2024, but failed to turn in enough valid signatures to make the ballot. There was disappointment among Detroit’s Black establishment who are upset with Thanedar when Hollier, who raised big money as a candidate for Congress, didn’t make the ballot.
He will join other Democratic candidates, John Conyers III and Eboni Taylor, who is endorsed by state Sen. Stephanie Chang, who currently sits in the seat.
The map has changed significantly since the last election.
In July, 2024, a three-judge panel approved state Senate district maps submitted by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and authorized implementation of the new boundaries for the 2026 elections.
Taylor is expected to launch her campaign with supporters at an event Wednesday at the Secret Garden Gallery.
Hollier pointed to his experience as an officer in the U.S. Army and paratrooper during his run for Congress in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and in his run for Secretary of State.
“Our Democracy is at risk,” Hollier said while campaigning to replace Jocelyn Benson as the state’s top elections official. “With the Trump administration trying to invalidate our elections, rig our maps, and make it harder for every Michigander to vote, we need a Secretary of State who is ready and willing to lead the fight against these attacks from day one.”
There remains two candidates other than Gilchrist running to be selected by party delegates as the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State: Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and former Whitmer appointee Suzanna Shkreli.
This is a breaking story and is currently being updated.
