• Michigan Democratic Party delegates met in Detroit on Sunday to pick several general election candidates
• Among them: Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for secretary of state and Eli Savit for attorney general
• Delegates also ousted U-M Regent Jordan Acker and booed US Rep. Haley Stevens during a Senate stump speech

---

DETROIT — Thousands of Michigan Democrats packed a convention center here Sunday, voting to endorse Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist for secretary of state and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit for attorney general. 

Both are now expected to make the November ballot as the Michigan Democratic Party’s general election nominees. 

Delegates also endorsed Amir Makled for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, ousting incumbent Jordan Acker in a heavily contested race that became a proxy for discontent over how the school handled pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

More than 7,200 delegates crowded into the Huntington Center in Detroit for the second day of the convention — a record turnout, according to Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. 

But with the large crowd came discontent. 

Errors with delegate credentialing delayed planned votes, prompting shouts from the floor of the sometimes chaotic convention. Booing also erupted multiple times during speeches, apparently driven by progressive activists.  

By the end of the night, however, the winning candidates were pushing for party unity and shifting the focus to fall elections. 

“Our unity is our strength. Our unity is our power,” Gilchrist said in a victory speech. “Coming out of this convention, we will have a Michigan Democratic Party that’s united and cannot be defeated.”

Gilchrist’s win sets the stage for a November matchup against Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, who the Michigan Republican Party endorsed for attorney general at a separate convention in late March. 

Savit will face Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, the GOP endorsee for attorney general. 

Savit topped union favorite

Savit won Sunday’s convention vote over Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who had been endorsed by a slew of top unions, including the UAW, MEA and the Michigan AFL-CIO.

As prosecutor in one of the state’s most liberal counties, Savit has pushed progressive reforms that have sparked criticism from conservatives, including a 2021 decision to end cash bail, which he said was unfair to people who could not afford to pay. 

The Trump administration recently sued Savit and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, alleging they have obstructed federal immigration enforcement operations.  

If elected attorney general, Savit has said he’d try to protect consumers from predatory business practices, defend civil rights, combat federal overreach and hold polluters accountable for environmental damage.

Gilchrist, who has served as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lieutenant for the past seven years, initially ran for governor but dropped out in January to run for secretary of state instead. Unions had backed him for the post.

Gilchrist does not have experience administering elections, one of the primary functions of secretary of state, but defeated Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and former state Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkrelli at the convention. 

“He will protect the right to vote, defend the will of the people and ensure Michigan’s elections remain secure, fair and free from political interference,” state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a speech backing him for the role. 

If elected, Gilchrist has said he would try to block the Trump administration from accessing personal voter data, work with the Legislature to address “dark” money in politics and modernize how the department handles licensing and vehicle registrations.

“I’m six-foot-eight inches tall. It’s the same height as your doorway,” he said following the vote. “And when they come at your rights, and your values, they gotta go through this six-foot-eight man right here to get to it.”

More convention winners

Other candidates endorsed by Michigan Democrats on Sunday included:

• Michigan Supreme Court: Incumbent Michigan Supreme Court Justices Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood
• State Board of Education: Incumbent State Board of Education members Judith Pritchett and Tiffany Tilley 
• Michigan State University Board of Trustees: Incumbent trustee Brianna Scott and Kelly Tebay Zemke, director of Government and External Relations for The Henry Ford Museum
• Wayne State University Board of Governors: Civil rights attorneys Richard Mack and Shereef Akeel
• University of Michigan Board of Regents: Incumbent regent Paul Brown and Makled, a Dearborn civil rights attorney who represented pro-Palestinian U-M students and alumni on charges filed in 2024 by Attorney General Dana Nessel but later dropped

See all Michigan GOP picks here.

The race for regent may have been the most contentious contest at the Democratic Party convention. 

Acker had been endorsed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other high-profile Democrats. While activists made the race a referendum on U-M’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters, Acker also came under fire for alleged lewd messages, according to a report from The Guardian.

Acker’s opponents circulated literature accusing him of aiding Trump in what they called an “assault on pro-Palestinian students and workers” at the university.  The flyers linked to a website by the Tahrir Coalition, a student group that helped organize protests at the homes of Acker and other regents in 2024. 

Makled, meanwhile, saw intense scrutiny over later-deleted social media posts which appeared to praise Hezbollah and promote antisemitic far right influencers, such as Candice Owens, according to The Detroit News.

“This moment, obviously, doesn’t belong to me,” Makled said in his victory speech. “It belongs to every student who believed their voice mattered.”

Boos in US Senate race

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham, an establishment favorite in the race for Michigan’s open US Senate seat, was greeted by boos as she took the stage. The boos continued throughout her remarks and grew louder when she discussed her senate campaign. 

“Democrats, I love you, even when we disagree,” Stevens said amid the uproar. Her campaign later released photos of her appearing to receive warm welcomes elsewhere at the convention. 

Michigan’s US Senate primary is expected to be one of the closest in the country, and experts say it could be a litmus test for where the party is heading. 

The most vocal activists at the convention appeared to favor Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive favorite who has taken a hard line on US and Israel actions in the Middle East.

“We are at a crossroads in this country,” El-Sayed said during a convention speech in which he called for the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, getting corporate money out of politics and Medicare for All.

“We cannot continue to make peace with a system that tells us that our best use of our tax dollars is to send money elsewhere in the form of bombs and tanks,” he said. 

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, got through her speech without much interruption but left the stage to chants of “Abdul, Abdul,” who was set to speak after her. 

Voting delays

Lengthy delays at Sunday’s endorsement convention were prompted by what party Chair Curtis Hertel called a delegate registration error.

“I promise you that if you have a delegate badge and you were registered, you are going to be able to vote,” Hertel said around 3 p.m., when voting had been expected to start.  “We will not stop that from happening.” 

Frustrated attendees were not shy, at times screaming “let us vote already” and “open up the voting” from the back of the convention hall during speeches from elected officials.

Voting finally began around 5:30 p.m., and the first round of voting took roughly two hours because some delegates were not able to vote by phone and had to wait in a long line to cast a ballot.

Michigan Republicans appeared to revel in the discord and recirculated social media videos of frustrated Democratic delegates at the convention. 

“These people want to run our elections,” wrote Oakland County GOP Chair Vance Patrick.

Michigan is one of just three states where major party delegates routinely choose nominees for attorney general and secretary of state at conventions rather than in primary elections.

Late Sunday, state Rep. Noah Arbit announced he’ll be introducing legislation to change that, saying those posts should be nominated “through partisan primaries like we do every other office.”

While past attempts to scrap convention nominations have failed, “I am always down for a worthy fight,” added Arbit, D-West Bloomfield.

Presidential positioning

Convention candidates did not make speeches before delegates voted, but several other Democrats did earlier in the day — touting work in 2023 and 2024 by a short-lived governing trifecta in Lansing, including repeal of the state’s so-called “right-to-work” laws and a 1931 abortion ban.

On Saturday, the opening day of the MDP convention served as a showcase for potential presidential candidates. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, US Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear both spoke to Michigan Democrats, as did Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was honored during the party’s annual legacy dinner. 

In remarks, Whitmer criticized “chaos” in DC, urging attendees to elect Democrats to the US House and Senate, along with all state and local offices. 

“When times are tough, we get tougher,” she said. “When leadership fails, we get focused and fight back. When shit gets real, we get shit done. That’s who we are, and that’s how we’ve always been.”

Beshear, who has twice won election in a state that typically elects Republicans, challenged fellow Democrats to talk more directly to voters and worry less about politically correct language.

“If we want to be the party of the people, we gotta talk like we are people,” he said. 

Harris, who answered questions from state Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, earlier Saturday during a women’s caucus luncheon, was pointed in her critique of Trump, who defeated her in 2024.

“The man doesn’t understand what real strength looks like, and he overcompensates full time trying to pretend that basically he’s some kind of mob boss,” she said.

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under our Republication Guidelines. Questions? Email republishing@bridgemi.com