The statewide November ballot is starting to take shape as Michigan Republicans selected likely nominees for attorney general and secretary of state at a Saturday endorsement convention in Novi.
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd won the endorsement for Michigan attorney general and Macomb County Clerk Tony Forlini won the Michigan secretary of state endorsement.
Democrats swept the top of the ticket in the last two elections for Michigan’s executive branch leaders. Lloyd said the GOP convention delegates were looking for competence and mainstream appeal.
“I think what it is, is Anthony and I bring together the ability to actually show people what it’s like when you’ve been elected, when you have the experience doing the job,” Lloyd said following the convention. “We know the job. We know how to do it. We know how to move forward.”
Forlini, who is also a former state legislator, said Republicans are hungry to win following eight years of Democratic control of the executive branch and they want candidates whose appeal lies in competence over ideology.
Forlini said he brings proven ability to win in a swing county.
“I think electability,” he said. “I think established leadership in the past. I’ve got a record of getting things done.”
The candidates will have to be formally nominated at the GOP’s August convention, which is a legal requirement to appear on the ballot. Saturday’s endorsement convention is not the final word because delegates can choose to upend the ticket at the August convention. But that is unlikely because it would require supermajority votes under party rules.
The early endorsement convention gives the party and the candidates time to coalesce, organize and fundraise.
Delegate Pete Lund, a former state legislator from Macomb County, said early voting and mail-in ballots mean political parties face a time crunch following the August conventions.
“That really is a game changer, and I think the party that adjusts to that the best will be the one with the best chances,” he said. “The party that makes that adjustment, the party that takes advantage of that is going to be the party that is going to be in the best shape.”
Republicans see opportunities since Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson cannot seek reelection under Michigan’s term limits. But the party in the White House typically suffers at the polls in the mid-terms.
“Obviously, we’re in a tough political environment,” said GOP campaign consultant Jason Roe. “But with good candidates and good fundraising, you can overperform.”
Roe said a lot will depend on the nominees for governor and U.S. Senate who will top the ticket.
The parties cannot change the date of the August primary elections where voters, not party insiders, will choose candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, the U.S. House and the Legislature.
