The leader of the Michigan Democratic Party is raising concerns over the Republican candidate for Secretary of State and whether he would protect the voting rights of every resident.
The MIGOP over the weekend nominated Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd to be the Republican candidates for secretary of state and attorney general, respectively.
The convention went without major fireworks or clashes among delegates, unlike in past years. Republicans are feeling confident about their ability to win statewide in November.
Democrats have run the attorney general and secretary of state’s office since 2019.
The candidates for those statewide positions are selected not by voters, but by party delegates. Michigan Democratic Party delegates will determine its candidates for the same posts on April 19 at their nominating convention at Detroit’s Huntington Place.
“Anthony Forlini is just another MAGA extremist who would do Donald Trump’s bidding, endanger Michiganders’ right to vote, and undo the progress that has been made at the Secretary of State’s office in reducing wait times and modernizing services,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said in a statement.
Hertel, a former state senator who represented mid-Michigan in the Legislature, raised concerns about Forlini’s comments about election fraud.
As Macomb County Clerk, Forlini in 2021 paid nearly $16,000 to an Alabama-based contractor Pro V&V for a “complete forensic image” of the server and hard drive of the county’s voting machines. He was elected in November, 2020, defeating Democratic incumbent Fred Miller, 51% to 49%.
“Michigan’s elections are free, fair, and secure, and yet Forlini has still been peddling debunked claims that have been easily disproven. If elected, Forlini would put our state’s elections at risk at a time when Trump has already threatened to take over Detroit’s elections.”
Forlini has not said he believes election fraud cost Trump the 2020 election, however his campaign has assured Republican voters who believe elections in big cities aren’t trustworthy that he will ensure elections are fair.
“Comments like this from Chairman Hertel are not what the Michigan voter is looking for. They accomplish nothing but stir division. Our campaign is about bringing Michiganders together and moving Michigan forward.”
Forlini has promised to “clean up Michigan’s “dirty elections,” but hasn’t repeated Trump’s claims like the Republican nominees from the most recent midterm cycle. Republican delegates in 2022 nominated for secretary of state and attorney general Kristina Karamo and Mathew DePerno, both of whom led their campaigns promising to get to the bottom of voter fraud.
Trump has long promoted the idea he actually won the 2020 presidential election.
The president in February of this year told reporters in the Oval Office to “Take a look at Detroit,” among several other Black-led cities where he falsely claims “horrible corruption” somehow contributed to his loss in 2020. Trump has said “the federal government should get involved” in elections by sending “agents of the federal government to count the votes.”
“Go to 2020. Look at the facts that are coming out. Rigged, crooked elections … Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Pennsylvania. Take a look at Philadelphia. You go take a look at Atlanta. Look at some of the places that — horrible corruption on elections. And the federal government should not allow that.”
A report published in 2021 by Republicans who at the time controlled the Michigan state Senate found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud. There is no evidence Trump’s election loss in Michigan in 2020 had anything other to do with the amount of votes he received compared to former President Joe Biden.
This year, Republicans delegates chose Lloyd, the Eaton County prosecutor, as their nominee for attorney general.
“Doug Lloyd is no different from MAGA Republicans at every level: he won’t stand up for our communities and will back Donald Trump’s dangerous, cost-raising agenda over the needs of working families every single time,” Hertel said.
Democratic candidates for Secretary of State include Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Whitmer appointee Suzanna Shkreli and Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum. The winner of that race at the April 19 Michigan Democratic Party nominating convention will face Forlini in the November general election.
