By Mary Pollock
TURNOUT FOR A CHANGE
Turnout – A record number of midterm Michigan voters exercised their franchise by November 3, increasing voter participation by about 300,000 from the 2022 midterm election. Approximately 4.8 million Michiganders cast ballots for a 59.8 percent turnout rate. Absentee ballots were once again the most popular form of voting and early voting increased in use including for those with absentee ballots. In Michigan, those 65 and above are 34 percent of the electorate and split about 50-50 in their party preferences this election.
Meanwhile, bipartisan appointed Boards of County Canvassers are meeting in November to review each precincts’ election materials before forwarding reports to the Secretary of State Bureau of Elections in preparation for the final tally and certification by the Board of State Canvassers in mid-December. All these meetings are open to the public.
Dem Tsunami – The unofficial vote totals reveal a Democratic tsunami in Michigan and nationwide. Because Michigan is a purple state with an estimated 40 percent considered not aligned with any party, Democratic voters didn’t create the blue tsunami alone. The Democratic candidates attracted independent swing voters and a fair number of disenchanted Republicans to achieve their victories.
Democrats captured all four major statewide offices (Governor/Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and U.S. Senator), flipped three of Michigan’s 13 congressional seats from R to D, flipped the State House of Representatives majority, made substantial gains in the State Senate majority, and took all the education board seats. The two Democratic Party-nominated Michigan Supreme Court Justices won their races as well.
Republicans are holding fewer elected positions of power in government than at any point in 172 years according to one analyst. The results represent a dramatic shift in Michigan’s political landscape and will have significant implications for the policy and legislative agenda beginning in January 2027.
Impact for State Employees and Retirees – There is hope that a new and better Hybrid Pension for new State employees (see “Chair Talk” in this issue of the SERA-Nade) may get some traction. Perhaps our Scrap the Cap effort to eliminate the $300 cap on the annual cost-of-living adjustment for defined benefit pensions can finally be addressed during this rare trifecta. Because State House members have two-year terms, look for Democratic-sponsored major policy changes to occur in 2027 before election season begins for Michigan House members and for the presidential election in early 2028.
STATEWIDE RESULTS
Governor – Democratic Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson, the current Secretary of State (SOS), and her running mate, State Senator Winnie Brinks were able to win an 11-point victory over Republican U.S. Representative John James. She becomes the third female Michigan has elected Governor and Brinks will be the fourth female elected to the Lt. Governor post.
Benson’s victory was historically significant, marking the first time since 1960 that a Democrat was elected to succeed another Democratic governor and breaking Michigan’s long-standing pattern of alternating party control of the office. She also joins a historically high number of female Governors elected this cycle. At least 17 (14D, 3R) women will serve as governor in 2027. The previous record of 14 was set in 2025. There are two gubernatorial races featuring female candidates that remain too close to call at this writing.
Transition Team Announced. Gov.-elect Benson announced the first members of her transition team, tapping former Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan CEO Nicole Sherard-Freeman, and Business Leaders for Michigan CEO Jeff Donofrio to lead the effort. The full transition team includes a broad coalition of government, labor, business, and community leaders.
First Day Promise. She has also pledged to make the Governor’s office subject to the State’s Freedom of Information Act on her first day in office. Michigan is now the only state not subject to a public records law since Massachusetts voters approved a ballot proposal about it on November 3.
AG and SOS – Democrats also retained control of the other major statewide offices, with voters electing both Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II for Secretary of State and Washtenaw Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit for Attorney General. Savit was the volunteer attorney representing SERA several years ago when SERA filed an amicus brief in the “adopt and amend” lawsuit before the Michigan Supreme Court.
For the fifth consecutive midterm election, the governor’s race, secretary of state race, and attorney general race all were won by the same party.
Inauguration – The newly elected statewide officeholders will be inaugurated mid-day on Friday, January 1. Events are free and open to the public.
Proposal 1 – The proposal asked voters if they wanted to elect 148 delegates in 2027 to review and potentially propose changes to the State constitution, with any proposed constitution ultimately requiring voter approval. Voters resoundingly rejected the question 74 to 25.
Proposal 2 – The Michigan Money Out of Politics proposal passed with over 80 percent voter approval. Court challenges have already been filed with the federal district court in Grand Rapids seeking injunctions, as the effective date of the measure is December 3.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy filed its lawsuit against the Secretary of State and Attorney General on election day itself, November 3. In its press release, it contends Proposal 2’s campaign finance provisions will hinder free speech and the financial anonymity of nonprofits, journalists, and residents. The lawsuit asks the court to declare two provisions in the proposal unconstitutional and block its enforcement. The Mackinac Center is represented by the Institute of Free Speech.
On November 5, Michigan’s largest energy utilities, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, filed in the same court alleging the proposal violates the First Amendment. It argues that the ballot proposal is unconstitutional because it discriminates against certain viewpoints in that the proposal bans public utilities, some government contractors, and “people and organizations with substantial connections” to those utilities and contractors from making direct or indirect campaign contributions.
Together, these federal lawsuits may end up in the U.S. Supreme Court after a period of temporary injunction prohibiting Proposal 2’s implementation during the appeal process.
STATE LEGISLATIVE OFFICE RESULTS
State Senate – From a slim Democratic majority of 20 – 18 in the State Senate this session which required Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist to be on hand to break a potential 19-19 tie vote, the Michigan Senate next session will have 23 Democrats and 15 Republicans. This is the largest Senate Democratic majority since the late 1970s. And 23 of the 38 Senators will be new to the Senate though some will have prior State House experience.
On November 5, new and returning Senators elected leaders for the 104th Legislature beginning in early 2027:
- Democrats:
- Majority Leader Darrin Camilleri (Trenton)
- Majority Floor Leader Kevin Hertel (St. Clair Shores)
- Republicans:
- Minority Leader Roger Hauck (Mount Pleasant)
- Minority Floor Leader Thomas Albert (Lowell)
State House – In a stunning development, voters elected a 16-seat Democratic majority in the State House, reversing the 58 – 52 Republican control of the chamber in the current session. Democrats targeted 11 seats to flip and won all of them, bouncing 10 incumbents in the process, the most incumbents to lose since 1966. House Democrats posted their best one-election gain of seats since 1964. There will be 23 new faces in the State House – 15 new Democrats and 8 new Republicans in the 110-member State House.
The 63 – 47 count gives Democrats a comfortable margin, unlike the 2023-2024 session with 56 – 54 control and loss of two Dems to mayoral races by the end of the first year and the defection of one Democrat to the Republicans.
New and returning State House members elected their leaders for the next session of the Legislature:
- Democrats:
- Speaker of the House Ranjeev Puri (Canton)
- Speaker Pro Tempore Laurie Pohutsky (Livonia)
- Majority Floor Leader John Fitzgerald ((Wyoming)
- Republicans:
- Minority Leader Tom Kunse (Clare)
- Minority Floor Leader Mike Harris (Clarkson)
- Assistant Minority Leader Rachelle Smit (Shelbyville)
FEDERAL OFFICE RESULTS
U.S. Senate – Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won his race by 7 points over former Republican U.S. Representative Mike Rogers to retain in Democratic hands the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed will join current Michigan Democratic U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin and a new Democratic majority of 54 – 44 in the U.S. Senate with two seats undecided in Mississippi and Alaska at this writing.
El-Sayed will be the first Muslim in the U.S. Senate and faced substantial anti-Muslim rhetoric during the campaign. This race was among the most closely watched and expensive contests in the country. His campaign mantra was “Money Out Of Politics, Money in Your Pocket, and Medicare for All.” In an interview with WLNS Channel 6, the Senator-elect says his first priority will be addressing the budget reductions in Medicaid and SNAP benefits in the One Big Beautiful Bill that Republicans passed in 2025 and set to take effect in January 2027.
U.S. Congress – Nationally, the Democratic Party won enough seats to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Michigan contributed three key Democratic party pickups. State Sen. Sean McCann defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga in a very close race in MI-4, Will Lawrence unseated incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett in MI-7, and Christina Hines captured the open MI-10 seat vacated by gubernatorial candidate John James. They join Rep. Hillary Scholten in MI-3, Rep. Debbie Dingell in MI-6, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet in MI-8, new Rep. Jeremy Moss in MI-11, Rep. Rashida Tlaib in MI-12, and Donavan McKinney in MI-13 who defeated incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Shri Thanadar in the primary. These victories changed the Michigan Congressional delegation to 9 Democrats to 4 Republicans and contributed to the party’s new U.S. House majority.
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
Education for Retirement System Board Members – The Michigan Senate passed unanimously on October 14 Senate Bill (SB) 979, amendments to the Public Employee Retirement System Investment Act which is applicable to the State Employees’ Retirement Act, Judges Retirement Act, State Police Retirement Act, and Public School Employees Retirement Act to require that written policies on professional training and education for investment fiduciaries include at least eight hours of training every two years per fiduciary.
Crypto ATM Ban – The Michigan Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection advanced a bill banning cryptocurrency kiosks after consumer advocates including the AARP testified that scammers used the machines to steal $11.9 million from Michiganders in 2025.
SB 980 sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), would prohibit the machines, commonly called crypto ATMs, while allowing consumers to continue buying and selling cryptocurrency through online services. The kiosks allow customers to quickly convert cash into cryptocurrency. The National Consumers League has identified 758 across Michigan, primarily in gas stations, convenience stores, smoke shops, and liquor stores.
Senator Irwin described schemes in which criminals impersonate government officials or threaten victims, then instruct them to deposit cash into a kiosk. Transactions happen almost immediately and generally cannot be reversed. Older adults bear a disproportionate share of the losses, according to Jason Lachowski, AARP Michigan’s associate state director of government affairs. Citing FBI reports, Lachowski said adults 60 and older accounted for nearly 76 percent of reported cryptocurrency kiosk fraud losses in 2025.
Irwin also cited investigations in Massachusetts where regulators reported that more than 80 percent of large crypto ATM transactions were fraudulent, while Iowa’s attorney general found fraud in 98 percent of transactions at some investigated locations.
CoinFlip legislative counsel testified against the bill, saying the kiosk company supports regulation to combat scams.
Mary Pollock is the Lansing SERA chapter and SERA Coordinating Council Legislative Representative. She may be contacted at michigansera@comcast.net.)