Following the midterm elections on Tuesday, Michigan Democrats found themselves in control of the state Senate, House of Representatives, secretary of state, attorney general and governor positions.
In the gubernatorial race, incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer defeated Republican challenger Tudor Dixon by securing 54.5% of the vote, according to MSNBC. The Donald Trump-endorsed Dixon acknowledged her defeat after initially refusing the results in a public statement. Dixon’s campaign was hyper-focused on education, and she floated several questionable policy ideas about banning books and Critical Race Theory.
GOP nominee for Michigan governor Tudor Dixon refuses to accept defeat: “This race is going to be too close to call, despite what Fox thinks.” pic.twitter.com/x5JybQVjY1
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) November 9, 2022
In the race for secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson (D) retained her position against the Trump-backed conspiracy theorist Kristina Karamo. Strange reports about Karamo threatening violence toward her family and spreading homophobic rhetoric surfaced during her campaign. Benson sturdily won reelection by more than 600,000 votes.
Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) also took more the 50% of the vote in her reelection win against GOP lawyer Matt DePerno. DePerno garnered national attention earlier this year when he was caught on tape expressing his desire to ban Plan B and comparing the contraceptive to fentanyl. He was also accused of trespassing in 2019.
Republican leaders in Michigan’s House of Representatives and state Senate confirmed that the Democrats have secured majorities in those chambers, effectively making the entire state government Democrat-controlled for the first time in almost 40 years.
Voters also passed a ballot measure to protect reproductive rights with 56% of the vote. The measure will initiate a constitutional amendment to ensure the “right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion are, miscarriage management and infertility care.”
Voters also passed another ballot measure by 60% to expand voting access in Michigan.