In Michigan Supreme Court races, Kyra Bolden, Kimberly Thomas up big

• Michigan Supreme Court results coming in after polls closed
• Justice Kyra Harris Bolden faces a challenge from Republican nominee Patrick O'Grady in race to complete a partial term
• Democratic nominee Kimberly Ann Thomas and GOP state lawmaker Andrew Fink competing for full term

LANSING — Democratic nominees for the Michigan Supreme Court had early leads on Tuesday in partial results, with ideological control of the court on the line after polls closed across the state. 

While Supreme Court seats are technically nonpartisan, candidates are nominated at political party conventions, and Democratic nominees have held a 4-3 majority since 2020. 

Republican nominees Patrick O'Grady and Andrew Fink were seeking to upend that power balance on the court with campaigns against incumbent Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and fellow Democratic nominee Kimberly Ann Thomas. 

Both races remained too close to call, but Bolden and Thomas held significant leads in early returns.

Check the latest results below. 

While the Associated Press — which has documented elections since 1848 — had not yet called the race, that didn’t stop some from congratulating Bolden and Thomas.

The ACLU of Michigan, which had supported Bolden and Thomas, sent out a news release celebrating Michigan voters for “resoundingly” electing a “pro civil liberties majority” to the court. 

Likewise, EMILY’s List, a political action committee that helps elect Democratic women, also issued a statement congratulating Bolden and Thomas.

Partisan implications

While Supreme Court races are listed on the nonpartisan portion of the MIchigan ballot, the makeup of the bench has partisan significance because justices are frequently asked to decide politically charged debates. 

Bolden, appointed to the court in 2022 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, must seek election to complete her term, and conservative Justice David Viviano announced in March that he would not seek re-election.

That left four major party nominees competing for two seats.

O’Grady, a longtime Branch County circuit court judge and former state trooper, challenged Bolden, a former Democratic state representative from Southfield, for a partial term that runs through 2028. 

The race to replace Viviano for a full six-year term pitted Thomas, a law professor at the University of Michigan, against Andrew Fink, a Republican lawmaker and vice chair of the state House Judiciary Committee.

An expensive race

The races drew significant contributions from outside sources. As of Oct. 20, a super PAC called Justice For All had raised $7.9 million to support Bolden and Thomas. 

Both Democratic nominees also had a fundraising advantage over their opponents, with their campaigns each raising more than $1 million including large donations from individual donors, labor unions and progressive groups.

Campaign finance disclosures show the Republican nominees raised less. As of Oct. 20, O’Grady had raised $231,789 and Fink had raised $328,572, including donations from the Farm Bureau, conservative groups and members of the DeVos family.

In recent years, Michigan’s highest court has issued rulings that cemented state law on high-profile issues including LGBTQ rights, the state's minimum wage, COVID-19 emergency powers and the state’s authority to regulate pollution.

This month, justices will hear arguments pertaining to chemical giant 3M’s lawsuit challenging Michigan’s limits on PFAS in drinking water, and there are several pending abortion-related lawsuits that could eventually reach the court.