• Two former Democratic and Republican party officials say they’re launching an effort to kick nominating conventions to the curb in Michigan
• They argue roles like secretary of state and attorney general should be decided at primary elections by all voters, not delegates at convention
• Ditching conventions would require amending the Michigan Constitution, a heavy lift that has failed in the past

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LANSING — Former Michigan Democratic and Republican party officials are teaming up in an effort to eliminate candidate nominating conventions for top state offices, arguing the practice disenfranchises voters.

The goal? Get the Legislature to put a question on the November ballot asking voters if they’d prefer to nominate candidates for secretary of state, attorney general and potentially other statewide offices through primary elections instead.

Doing so would require an amendment to the Michigan Constitution, which currently requires candidates for some offices to be nominated at major political party conventions. 

“I think there’s a desire for both parties to stop pendulum politics, which ultimately results in pendulum governing,” said former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson, who is working with former Michigan GOP Executive Director Jason Roe on a potential proposal. 

“At the end of the day, what this effort is about is creating a process that’s more reflective of Michigan voters.”

Related: 

• Political parties, not voters, pick key Michigan candidates
• Michigan Democrats push party left. Will voters follow?
• GOP picks Anthony Forlini, Doug Lloyd for fall ballot

Michigan is one of just three states where major party delegates routinely choose nominees for those consequential posts at conventions rather than primary elections, deciding which candidates get to go before voters in the November general election. 

The new push follows a chaotic Michigan Democratic Party convention in Detroit, where a wave of new and emboldened progressives helped Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit win an upset race for attorney general and booed US Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who is running for US Senate.

But “this is not an effort to roll back what happened at our convention,” Johnson told Bridge Michigan. “This is about moving forward.”

Momentum, or immovable object?

It’s not a new idea. Two years ago, Roe tried unsuccessfully to convince state lawmakers to put a question on the statewide ballot, which they could do without the need for an expensive petition drive. 

That push followed a 2022 GOP endorsement convention which saw grassroots delegates nominate inexperienced activist Kristina Karamo for secretary of state. She went on to lose badly in the general election. 

Changing the state Constitution would be a heavy lift, requiring supermajority support in the Legislature followed by voter approval on a statewide ballot. 

Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad, who also serves in the state Senate, said he doubts there would be enough support in Lansing.

“I think it’s going to be more along the lines of the establishment Democrats that are going to be the least happy,” he said. “But is that going to constitute a two-thirds majority? I doubt that.”

But Johnson and Roe said they feel like they have momentum this year in the Legislature — in part because some lawmakers have already signaled their willingness to take up the fight. 

State Rep. Noah Arbit, R-West Bloomfield, announced Sunday he was preparing to introduce legislation to amend the Michigan Constitution to replace nominating conventions with partisan primaries. 

While he’s yet to introduce the measure, Arbit told Bridge that he’s primarily interested in primaries for secretary of state and attorney general. Conversations “are ongoing” about trying to do the same for other positions like the state Board of Education, the Michigan Supreme Court and university governing boards.

Convention candidates

While university board races often fly under the radar, this weekend’s Democratic Party convention was marked by a bitter battle over a University of Michigan Board of Regents race, which served as a proxy for the school’s handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Democrats ultimately endorsed Amir Makled, a Dearborn civil rights attorney who has come under fire for now-deleted posts that critics called antisemitic. He defeated incumbent Jordan Acker, who is now facing a university investigation over lewd messages.

The convention left some in the Democratic Party wondering whether delegates chose candidates too far left to be palatable in a purple state like Michigan — a feeling Roe says he understands all too well, but on the Republican side.

“If we are going to let the most radical activists within our respective parties choose our nominees, well … expect very radical nominees that are unelectable in November,” he said.

Rima Mohammad, co-founder of the People’s Coalition, pushed back on the idea that Democratic Party conventiongoers were somehow out of step with the party’s broader base. 

While acknowledging that the process could be run more smoothly, Mohammad argued that conversations about changing the convention process only seem to occur when establishment-backed candidates lose.

“I actually believe that our coalition was truly a reflection of voters of the state,” she said, touting progressive wins. “I actually do think that these (candidates) are what the voters want.”

Ballot prospects

Amending the Michigan Constitution would require voter approval, but organizers generally have two options to get a proposal on the ballot. 

They could gather hundreds of thousands of valid voter signatures, which can be a lengthy and costly process virtually impossible to achieve still this year. Or they could get two-thirds of all state legislators to approve a measure and send it to the ballot. 

Speaking to Bridge on Wednesday, Johnson said he thinks using the Legislature for the change is “achievable” this year. 

He argued that replacing nominating conventions with primary elections for key statewide offices would be “more reflective” of Michigan voters, rather than a few thousand party insiders.

But Runestad doubts it will happen. 

He argued that the convention process levels the financial playing field by forcing candidates to pitch themselves to individual delegates rather than spend big money on advertising.

He also noted that Republicans were generally happy with the outcome of their convention this year. Delegates last month endorsed Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd for attorney general and Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini for Secretary of State. 

Democrats, meanwhile, have rallied behind Savit for the attorney general role and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for secretary of state.

“I think primaries would be a much better choice to select this process,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Monday during a radio interview. 

“Unfortunately, it’s in our Constitution.”

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