After many Democrats were soundly defeated by Republicans last November in national and state political races, the Democratic Party has been searching for viable solutions to turn the tide for better results in future elections. In Michigan, Democrats lost control of the State House of Representatives to Republicans, breaking up the Michigan Democratic Party’s (MDP) historic trifecta of controlling all three branches of state government while watching Donald J. Trump win the state on his way back to the White House where America’s voters delivered him a GOP-controlled U.S. House and Senate.
It’s a no-brainer that the MDP must put November’s election in its rearview mirror and move forward with more energized and effective messaging and platforms that resonate with Democrats and others across Michigan and beyond. Yet, the MDP must move quickly and strategically because numerous state elections – including for Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State – will be held in Nov. 2026. MDP’s goal is to robustly rebound from the November defeats and win state races, including the top three Executive Branch positions.
However, before any political strategy, renewed platforms, and more effective messaging to Michigan voters can be formulated and implemented, the Michigan Democratic Party will first convene its 2025 Spring State Convention on Saturday, Feb. 22 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), at the Detroit Marriott (The Renaissance Center) in downtown Detroit. What is accomplished at the Convention will be critical to the future of the MDP and its constituents in Michigan’s 83 counties.
According to the Michigan Democratic Party’s “Call to Convention,” the daylong event will convene Michigan Democrats by congressional districts to elect district officers and members to the State Central Committee. Members of MDP constituency group caucuses will meet and elect their leadership. On the Convention floor, Democrats will vote by congressional district to elect a Chair and two Vice-Chairs of the MDP State Central Committee.
Candidates for MDP Chair are longtime Democratic activist, strategist, and community organizer Al “BJ” Williams; former State Senator and former legislative director to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing); and Mark Ludwig, Michigan Democratic Party Rural Caucus Chair from Fennville, Michigan. Multiple sources have indicated that Ludwig may be more interested in running for one of the two MDP vice chair positions versus the party’s top job.
Whoever is elected MDP Chair at the Spring State Convention will succeed Party Chair Lovora Barnes, who chose not to seek reelection in the aftermath of last November’s election. Barnes, elected MDP Chair in 2019, was the first African American to hold the top leadership position. Since Barnes announced her decision two weeks after November’s presidential election, there has been overt movement by individuals jockeying to lead the MDP.
“I’m the best candidate for MDP Chair because I’ve been a part of the fabric of this party for decades,” Williams told the Michigan Chronicle. “I have been fighting to grow the party to ensure members fully understand its values. I know what it takes for the Michigan Democratic Party to win again.”
Williams said his approach to putting the Democratic Party back on track is to rebuild from the ground up using his 25-plus years of political organizing, leadership, advocacy, coalition building, and grassroots activism. He also would create more effective ways to train and support precinct delegates, the major bridge between voters and party leaders.
Williams also said he is traveling to all 83 Michigan counties, where he’s talking with Democrats about his vision if elected MDP Chair. Williams has picked up dozens of endorsements from elected and appointed officials and communities/grassroots groups throughout the state, including Dr. Pamala Pugh (State of Michigan Board of Education President), Brenda Moore (Saginaw Mayor), Alisha Bell (Wayne County Commission Chair) Mary Sheffield (Detroit City Council President), several other city council members, Robert Womack (Kent County Commissioner), and the Wayne County Black Caucus.
“I am excited to accept the endorsement of the Wayne County Black Caucus and so many of our party’s leading Democrats from around the state,” Williams said. “They represent the best our party has to offer with proven experience at winning elections, improving communities, and tackling the challenging issues of our time. Caucus members represent the next phase of aggressive, bold leadership focused on rebuilding our party.”
Ludwig has said his platform for moving the MDP forward is strengthening the party’s grassroots foundation and building a stronger base in rural areas of the state that have traditionally been Republican.
“We need a grassroots party that can get uncomfortable in difficult places,” Ludwig said recently at a Chair forum in Washtenaw County. At an earlier media forum, Ludwig pointed out that the MDP has “a universal negligence problem affecting members and Democratic clubs.”
Hertel believes he is the only candidate with a winning formula to energize and lead the MDP back to the winner’s circle in 2026 and beyond.
“Some people believe that the Democratic Party needs to change who we are but I reject that notion, rather I think we need to remember who we have always been,” Hertel said in a video message posted on his official MDP Chair website. “The Democratic Party has been and will always be the party of working people. And we need to fight harder to prove that to people across Michigan.”
Hertel said that people in communities across the state are the best sources for talking with their neighbors and others about the Democratic Party’s platform and urging voters to turn out to vote.
“What I can tell you is that it’s really hard for someone to relate to a national Democrat. It’s much easier to relate to somebody in your own community who’s making those arguments,” Hertel said in a statement, adding that the party needs to be ‘making sure that we’re training and recruiting the people’ that run our campaigns from Michigan.”
While Hertel has previously held elected and appointed state leadership positions, he lost a critical election in November 2024, when Republican Tom Barrett defeated him for the U.S. House of Representatives (7th Congressional District) seat. It was a stinging loss for Democrats because the open seat was considered safe for the party since it was held by Democrat Elissa Slotkin from 2019 to 2025. Slotkin ultimately ran for the open U.S. Senate seat and was victorious against Republican Mike Rogers.
Despite Hertel’s defeat, Whitmer has endorsed his bid to become the next Michigan Democratic Party Chair, much to the chagrin of some MDP members. Other endorsements for Hertel include Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, dozens of state legislators, Caucus Chairs, and The Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus.
In the days leading up to the Spring State Democratic Party Convention, Williams and Hertel will make concerted efforts to talk with as many Democratic groups in the state about their visions and plans if elected MDP Chair.
“It’s a big tent, and the MDP has to be in tune, in touch, and in step with our constituents and what issues are most important to them,” Williams said. “This last election in Michigan, we lost just about every county. The leaders of this party, including the governor, missed the boat completely, but I’m standing in the gap of leadership to rebuild the MDP for the people, whether they live in rural areas or cities.”
“I think we (MDP) need to have better conversations about what people are experiencing in their daily lives,” Hertel said. “We have to return back to the soul of what our party is, which is a party of working people.”
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