Michigan Democratic Party members voted for Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit for Secretary of State and Attorney General Sunday at their endorsement convention.
Members told Michigan Chronicle after the endorsements were confirmed for Gilchrist and Savit that Democrats sent a message with their choices Sunday.
“We are sending a clear message here tonight about what Democrats want in 2026,” Ann Arbor Library Board member Aidan Sova told Michigan Chronicle.
Sova, who is supporting state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, for Congress, said that the eruption of boos as U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens spoke to party members signals where the Democratic voters are feeling ahead of the August 4 primary election.
Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat has become a national inflection point among Democratic voters fighting to find their identity following the loss in November, 2024.
Stevens is running against McMorrow and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed.
Both Gilchrist and Savit said on Sunday they will work to bring supporters of their opponents to them ahead of the general election.
Gilchrist will face Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini. Savit will face Eaton County prosecutor Doug Lloyd.
Voting during the convention was delayed by an hour and a half after an error by a volunteer while registering delegates, party chair Curtis Hertel told the crowd of Democrats.
Secretary of State candidates included Gilchrist, former lottery commissiner Suzanna Shkreli and Barb Byrum, while Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and Savit were the candidates for Attorney General.
Hertel said Sunday was the highest attended convention in the party’s history, with 7,252 delegates signed up to vote for candidates for university boards, Secretary of State and Attorney General.
Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd were selected by MIGOP members last month as Republican candidates for Secretary of State and Attorney General.
Michigan Democrats say they are closer together ahead of the midterm elections despite the existing divisions within the party over foreign wars and corporate power. Those divisions were visible at the convention Sunday, where pro-Palestine members unsuccessfully demanded a point of order over Michigan Democratic Party leaders didn’t allow them to amend a resolution about Palestine in front of party members.
Byrum and Gilchrist hours after the vote urged supporters not to leave the convention hall until the race is decided. Hundreds of members left the convention center after they voted, which may play a role in the election for Secretary of State, where there were three candidates.
The convention chair, state Rep. Stephanie Young, D-Detroit, served as a emcee of the event. Young reminded members they could vote via iPad stations inside of the Huntington Place, but outside of the convention hall where most delegates voted on their cell phones.
“If you’re still at the MDP convention, thank you so much for coming out today. Please don’t leave yet in case we need to vote on a second ballot,” Garlin’s campaign told supporters in a text messsage.
While the results didn’t end up coming down to a second vote, some members said they’ve seen it before.
“We’ve voted second ballots before, we’ve had to stay here all night and vote,” 13th Democratic Party Congressional District chair Jonathan Kinloch told Michigan Chronicle. “It’s in the rules, people have to read the rules.”
Kinloch, who read the nomination of University of Michigan regent candidate, Jordan Acker, was booed on stage after urging progressive Democrats against opposing other Democrats. He commented on the boos on stage, saying Democrats who didn’t vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 never learned their lesson.
The rift among party members over the war in Gaza continues to play out among Democratic voters in Michigan and across the country.
Party delegates booed U.S. Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens throughout her remarks as she spoke on the convention stage. Stevens has been criticized by supporters of her U.S. Senate opponents, Abdul El-Sayed and Mallory McMorrow.
Read more: Boos Erupt Against Pro-Israel Candidates at Michigan Democratic Party Convention
While Stevens has embraced the controversial AIPAC lobby, the largest political action committees in the country dedicated to supporting Israel, McMorrow and El-Sayed have pledged against taking money from the group.
Progressives also picked up a major victory in the election for University of Michigan regent. Incumbent Jordan Acker, who opposed students seeking divestment from Israel, was defeated by attorney Amir Makled, who represented student protestors charged with felonies by Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Keith Williams, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus, told Michigan Chronicle after the votes that Savit and Gilchrist’s victories were wins for Black Michiganders as well.
Williams said 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.”
While candidates who earned nominations Sunday said they will work to be the candidate for all Democrats, not all party members were happy about the results.
“Utterly despicable and terrifying today,” West Bloomfield Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit, who is an outspoken supporter of Israel, said in a social media post. “The extreme, far left has taken over the Michigan Democratic Party.”
GOP politicians are also criticizing Michigan Democrats on social media, suggesting the party is headed in the wrong direction.
“Today’s Democratic Party is dominated by extreme progressive activists out of touch with reality,” said Sterling Heights Republican Robert Lulguraj, a candidate for Congress. “When the Democrats say who they are, believe them. That’s not the direction this country needs.”
