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Tuesday's primary election in the region will determine candidates for an open U.S. Senate seat, for the 1st Congressional District, for governor and the contentious Republican side for state Senate.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The ballot also contains a number of local millages.
The combative U.S. Senate Democratic primary has narrowed to Abdul El-Sayed against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens; Mallory McMorrow withdrew July 5 but will still appear on the ballot. The winner will face Republican Mike Rogers, who served from 2001 to 2015 as U.S. representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district and narrowly lost the 2024 U.S. Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin.
The race has drawn national attention "as a proxy battle for the future of the Democratic Party. And it's the first true test nationally of whether a progressive like El-Sayed can win over a swing state like Michigan, where independent voters play an outsize role in deciding election outcomes," Lauren Gibbons wrote on Bridge Michigan, bridgemi.com.
The Democratic establishment has backed Stevens, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer -- who defeated El-Sayed in the 2018 gubernatorial primary -- and other well-known Michigan officials such as retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and former Govs. Jennifer Granholm and Jim Blanchard, according to Bridge Michigan.
Stevens, of Birmingham, has represented the 11th District in Congress since 2018 and served in the Obama administration as chief of staff to the federal auto bailout task force. Her website is at https://haleyformi.com/.
El-Sayed is the former executive director of the Detroit Health Department and health officer for the City of Detroit. He left that position in 2017 to run for Michigan governor. He has garnered support from progressive favorites U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as the United Auto Workers union, according to Bridge Michigan.
His website is at https://abdulforsenate.com/.
In the 1st Congressional District, the Democratic primary has Callie Barr, Kyle Blomquist and Wayne Stiles. The district contains all 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula and 20 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Barr, of Traverse City, describes herself as "a military spouse, veteran advocate, mom, teacher, and attorney." On her website, Barr says after her husband, Matt, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after Sept. 11 and returned from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with combat injuries, she went from the classroom to veterans advocacy, law school "and now a campaign focused on real solutions for working families across MI-01."
Barr also ran for the seat in 2024, losing to incumbent U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman by a 59.2% to 37.9% margin. More on her candidacy is available at https://callieforcongress.com/.
Blomquist is an Iron Mountain architect and 11-year member of the Iron Mountain City Council, currently mayor pro-tem. He said he considers himself a Democratic Socialist but his main message "is one of class solidarity," adding on his website, "I believe that the American working class should be the primary beneficiary of their collective productivity." More on his candidacy is available at https://www.blomquistforcongress.com/meet-kyle.
Stiles, also of Traverse City, calls himself "an unapologetic Catholic, industrial designer, entrepreneur and small business owner." It is his first run for public office. More on his candidacy is available at https://www.wayne-stiles.com/.
On the Republican side, challenging five-term incumbent Bergman of Watersmeet are Matthew DenOtter and Justin Michal.
DenOtter is a health care executive from Boyne City. More on his candidacy is available at https://www.denotterformi.com/.
Michal is a U.S. Army veteran from Grayling whose career experience includes working as an entrepreneur. More on his candidacy is available at https://www.justinmichalforcongress.com/.
For governor, Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township squares off against Perry Johnson, who ran for governor in 2022. Two other GOP candidates, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt and former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, have suspended their campaigns but will still appear on the ballot.
James decided against seeking a third term in Michigan's 10th Congressional District to make a run for governor. He unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 against Stabenow and 2020 against Peters. He is listed as joining James Group International -- a global supply chain management service company where his father, John A. James, was CEO -- in 2012, eventually becoming president of James Group International and CEO of its subsidiary, Renaissance Global Logistics. He has the backing of President Donald Trump. His website is at https://johnjamesmi.com/.
Johnson is listed by Michigan Advance, michiganadvance.com, as "a multi-millionaire and self-described 'quality guru'" who previously ran for governor in 2022 but did not make the ballot amid the fake petition signature scandal. His campaign has been largely self-funded. His website is at https://www.perryjohnson.com/.
The Democratic side has a primary race for governor as well, with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson considered the frontrunner against Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
Benson has been Michigan's top election official for the past eight years and is a former dean of the Wayne State University Law School. Her website is at https://www.jocelynbenson.com/.
Swanson has been sheriff of Genesee County since 2020, overseeing the state's fifth-largest sheriff's office, based in Flint. This is his first run for statewide office. His website states, "For over three decades, Sheriff Swanson has dedicated himself to his local community in various roles, including as a police officer, paramedic, business owner, and professor." More information on his candidacy is at https://swansonformichigan.com/.
The 38th state Senate seat is open this year with current Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, unable to run due to term limits.
A battle developed in February when Beau LaFave of Iron Mountain, the former 108th District state representative, entered the race with the backing of U.S. Rep. Bergman. McBroom and state Reps. Greg Markkanen of Hancock and Karl Bohnak of Deerton had already come out for current 108th Rep. Dave Prestin of Cedar River as the Republican candidate for the state Senate seat. It triggered anger among the Republican lawmakers, with McBroom accusing Bergman of reneging on a pledge not to endorse in the races, which Bergman's office sharply denied.
Prestin was first elected to the state House in 2022, succeeding LaFave after Dickinson County was taken out of the 108th District. On his website, https://daveprestinforsenate.com/, he describes himself as a businessman with "a proven record of turning around failed businesses, most recently with Cedar River Plaza." He is a licensed paramedic, a first responder and serves on the Cedarville Township Volunteer Fire Department. He also was District 6 commissioner on the Menominee County Board.
LaFave was elected to the 108th District state House seat in 2016 and served three terms. He then worked for Markkanen but said he left over not being willing to back Prestin. His website, https://www.beaulafave.com/, describes him as "a lifelong U.P. resident who went to law school so he could actually write laws that work."
Other candidates for the 38th District state Senate seat include Democrat Kelli van Ginhoven, an Escanaba native and former business owner who won a Delta County Board recall election in 2024; and Sara Cambensy of Marquette, who was 109th state representative from 2017 to 2022 as a Democrat but is now running as an independent.
Currently, the 108th District includes parts of Chippewa and Mackinac counties, as well as all of Delta, Luce, Menominee, and Schoolcraft counties. Six Republicans and one Democrat are vying to succeed Prestin.
The GOP candidates on the ballot are Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman; Menominee County Board member Larry Johnson of Spalding; Mid Peninsula School District teacher Christopher Reynolds; Mackinac County Board member Daryl Schroeder, who also serves as president of the Engadine School Board; Delta County Board member Steven Viau of Gladstone; and retired police officer Kurt Perron of Chippewa County.
The Democratic candidate in the 108th District is Rachel M. Keys, a U.S. Navy veteran and citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community.