Updates About Elections

On February 27, U.S. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin announced that she will be running for U.S. Senate.

Slotkin serves in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Her announcement follows the recent news that U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow will be retiring and will not run for reelection in 2024. Stabenow has served as a U.S. Senator to Michigan since 2000.

Slotkin, so far, has no democratic challengers, but two Republicans have formed exploratory committees: current State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder and business owner Michael Hoover.

Additionally, with Slotkin set to vacate her current 7th Congressional seat, others have formed exploratory committees or are considering a run. Those include current Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, current Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, former state Senator and aid to Governor Whitmer Curtis Hertel, and state Representative Angela Witwer. On the Republican side, former state Senator Tom Barrett is said to be expressing interest in another run for this seat (he lost to Slotkin in 2022).

Late Friday evening at Michigan Republican Convention in Lansing, Kristina Karamo was elected to serve as the state party chair, fending off former attorney general candidate and Trump-endorsed Matt DePerno by a total of 58 percent to 42 percent, respectively. Former Muskegon County Commissioner Malinda Pego will serve as co-chair.

Karamo beat out eight other candidates for chair in the third round of voting. The process took approximately ten hours as MI GOP chose to hand count all ballots instead of using electronic voting tabulators. In her victory speech, Karamo predicted Republicans would see key wins in 2024, including the White House, U.S. Senate, and Michigan state House.

Karamo was the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2022 but lost to incumbent Jocelyn Benson by fourteen points.

On February 1, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 13, a bill to move the presidential primary in Michigan from the second Tuesday in March to the fourth Tuesday in February.

Throughout the legislative process, Republicans voiced concerns that changing the primary breaks the Republican National Committee (RNC) rules that prohibit Michigan from holding primaries before March 1. Consequently, the bill failed to collect enough Republican votes in the Senate to ensure immediate effect.

Under the state Constitution, a law cannot take effect until 90 calendar days after the end of the legislative session year. For this bill to apply to the 2024 presidential primary, the state Legislature would have to adjourn for the year by November 29. However, Governor Whitmer would be able call special session days for the Legislature to finish any business throughout the remainder of the year.

For the upcoming presidential primary in 2024, Michigan is slated to vote on February 27.