Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist will face Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini in the November 3 general election after winning votes from party delegates at a Democratic Party endorsement convention Sunday.
Michigan Democrats held their endorsement convention Sunday where party delegates, not voters, decide which candidates will be the party nominees for Attorney General and Secretary of State.
Gilchrist, along with Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit won the election among party members for Secretary of State and Attorney General.
Both were viewed as the more progressive candidates in their respective races.
Gilchrist defeated former lottery commissioner Suzanna Shkreli and Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum in his victory.
Sunday’s election results marked a major victories for progressives in Michigan, who won the races for Attorney General and Secretary of State, and ousted a University of Michigan regent.
In Michigan, candidates for university boards, Secretary of State and Attorney General are decided by party voters at each major party’s endorsement convention, instead of a primary election among voters across the state.
“I know everybody in this room has felt some kind of targeting from the Trump administration,” Gilchrist told supporters on stage in his victory speech. “I know that people all over Michigan, frankly, all over this country that are feeling targeted. Whether you’re a Spanish speaking immigrant, whether you’re a Native American school teacher, whether you’re a white UAW member, people feel like they’ve been targeted.”
Gilchrist told reporters after his on stage remarks he would work to further improve Secretary of State branches by ensuring walk-in appointments are available in tandem with the appointment-style system deployed by current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
Gilchrist and Benson were both running for Michigan governor before Gilchrist dropped out in January, leaving Benson as the clear frontrunner. Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson is also running for governor, but is trailing in polling and campaign fundraising.
Gilchrist gave shoutouts on stage to former state Sen. Adam Hollier and Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, the two Secretary of State candidates who dropped out once he ended his campaign for governor and joined the race to become the state’s top elections official.
“Our team took a really close look at the numbers when he got in the race to see if there was a genuine pathway for us to win, we just didn’t think it was viable and we think that’s been proven right today,” Edevbie told Michigan Chronicle following the announcement of the results Sunday night.
Forlini, the Republican Secretary of State candidate, said in a statement after Gilchrist secured the party endorsement said his campaign will stay focused on improving customer service, strengthening confidence in Michigan’s elections and public service systems.
Gilchrist said Forlini has helped President Donald Trump’s administration lay the groundwork and the pretext for attacking election workers and election administrators by spreading lies and misinformation.
“I’m focused on protecting votes, voting and voters in Michigan from Trump’s assault on our democracy,” Gilchrist said.
Gilchrist was backed by the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus. Caucus chair Keith Williams told Michigan Chronicle that Sunday was a clean sweep for the caucus, which also supported Savit and labor attorney Richard Mack in his election for Wayne State Board of Governors.
“We are the Democratic Party,” Williams said. “It’s about promoting the interests and concerns of African Americans, that’s what I’m all about. These guys were not only for African Americans but we can win with them in the fall.”
Michigan hasn’t elected a Black person to a statewide position since Secretary of State Richard Austin became the first in 1970. Democratic Party voters in Michigan have never nominated a Black person as their pick for governor.
Republicans did in 1986, when former Wayne County executive Bill Lucas won the party’s nomination after switching parties. He eventually was defeated by former Gov. James Blanchard.
