Three Democrats — two from Detroit and one from Lansing — are running to earn the nod from their party at next year’s state party nominating convention.
Michigan voters on Nov. 3, 2026 will elect a new U.S. Senator, governor, Secretary of State and attorney general.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is term-limited and ineligible to be elected to a third term. She announced earlier this year she is running for governor.
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, 47, told Michigan Chronicle an in interview Wednesday she believes Democratic Party voters want someone who can take on Republicans and fight back against attempts to enact stricter voting rights.
“Voters in Michigan decided that they want the ability to vote via absentee, by mail-in voting,” Byrum said. “Trump has said he wants to eliminate it. I will not stand idly by if he attempts to sign executive orders to limit access. I will sign a brief in opposition. I would fight in the courts, but I will also fight in the streets and in the press and on social media.”
On social media, Byrum has made a name for herself outside of mid-Michigan where she has been a county clerk since 2013 after serving in the Legislature for six years as a state representative. She said around the time then-President Donald Trump was sharing unfounded conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, people would come to her with election administration related questions.
Byrum said she took it as an opportunity to educate people about the security of Michigan’s elections.
Former state Sen. Adam Hollier, 40, says he’s running for Secretary of State to protect the rights of voters and continue expanding Michigan’s elections.
“I’m running because voters time and time again are like, ‘Are we even going to have an election?” Hollier says. “This is not about Donavan, this is not about the 13th. This is about being where the right fight is. Who is going to push back, who is going to exercise the kind of courage and backbone necessary to step up and say to the Trump administration, no we’re not going to do that… As you’ve seen from Jocelyn, a big part of that is representing this state — I think I would be doing a great job.”
Hollier points to his military background when separating himself from election administrators Barb Byrum, the Ingham County Clerk, and deputy secretary of state Aghogho Edevbie, who have also announced campaigns for the position.
“My military service plays a huge role when we start talking about pushing back, being able to speak up on the big fights, but also my ability as a legislator, the relationships I’ve had and the ability to get things done in a bipartisan fashion,” Hollier said. “I have real experience as a legislator, as an administrator in a statewide position, having run the Michigan Veterans Affairs agency and have been in these fights for years.”
Hollier mentioned his efforts to ensure fair maps for Black Detroiters when the state was undergoing its first ever independent redistricting process. As well as his presence at the then-TCF Center when Trump attempted to stop poll workers from counting votes.
Deputy Clerk Aghogho Edevbie, 37, is separating himself from the other candidates, who enter the race with greater name ID, by pledging not to take corporate PAC dollars.
The vow against corporate donations has become a litmus test for a progressive Democrats. Neither Hollier nor Byrum have made similar commitments, though Byrum said Wednesday she was still considering whether to do so.
Edevbie’s supporters include city council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero, state Reps. Tonya Meyers Phillips and Donovan McKinney.
Edevbie ran for a state House seat in the old 6th District and finished fourth in a 10 candidate field. He was the Michigan director for All Voting is Local, where he worked to get drop boxes installed across and help people locate them ahead of the 2020 election.
“After the 2020 election we realized we needed some policy changes too, so we wrote like five white pages on drop boxes, early voting funding, getting help recruiting more poll workers,” Edevbie said. “So we put it out there and Promote the Vote was like, ‘Hey, we like what you did, let’s talk about reforms’ and it snowballed into Proposal 2.”
The successful ballot initiative, approved by 60% of voters, added nine more days of early voting, a prepaid ballot postage and state-funded ballot tracking notification system and a permanent absentee voter list.
Edevbie will have to convince party insiders he’s the best candidate to run against a Republican in a general election.
The primary winner is chosen in a closed nominating process. Nominees for secretary of state and attorney general are selected by delegates, not voters, at the state party’s nominating convention ahead of the election.
