Election 2018

Fresh off statewide defeats in 2018, Michigan’s Republican Party picked new leadership Saturday.

“Are you ready to win in 2020!” National Republican Party Chair Ronna Romney-McDaniel said as she rallied the state GOP convention in Lansing.

The party needs rallying after losing races for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state in 2018. Republicans held onto control of the state Senate and House but by slimmer margins.

There are now a record number of women in Congress, and several of them are from Michigan.  

Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) now represents Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. She’s one of dozens of new women – including women of color – starting their terms. Slotkin says they’re changing the look of Congress.

“I mean, I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been walking down the hall and someone thinks that I’m a staffer to a member of Congress,” she says.

She says Congress will now act differently too.

Voter turnout during Michigan's 2018 midterms was the highest it's been in 56 years. The unofficial results released by the State of Michigan put 2018 turnout at 58% of registered voters.

In a race that was too close to call Tuesday night, Elissa Slotkin has officially won in the 8th Congressional District, narrowly unseating two-term incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Bishop.

Bishop conceded defeat just after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, although the Associated Press did not officially declare a winner until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Michigan voters have approved a wide-ranging constitutional amendment that will allow people to register and vote on the day on an election, request absentee ballots without having to give a reason and cast straight-ticket ballots.

The ballot measure approved Tuesday will also automatically register people to vote when they obtain or renew a driver’s license or conduct some other type of business with the secretary of state’s office, unless they opt out.

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow was re-elected to a fourth term, defeating Detroit businessman and Army veteran Republican John James.

Stabenow had seen the race tighten in the final days of the campaign. She faced a strong competitor in James, who would have become the second African-American Republican in the current Senate if he had won.

A Muslim woman from Detroit has won the congressional seat long held by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who stepped down amid sexual harassment claims by former staffers.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib was elected to represent Michigan's 13th House District on Tuesday, defeating three other candidates, including a write-in campaign by Detroit's City Council president, Brenda Jones.

Democratic former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer will be Michigan's next governor with a victory over Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Whitmer will be the second woman elected as Michigan governor.

Here are election results from the major races we are following. Polls close at 8 p.m., and results will be updated as they come in.

Listen to live election coverage on Michigan Radio: 91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit, 91.1 Flint, 104.1 West Michigan, or stream it from the player above. You can also follow the results on Twitter.

This is an expensive year to run for a seat in the Michigan state Senate.

Craig Mauger is the executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. 

He says 10 of the 38 state Senate races have each cost more than $1 million.  The previous high was six in 2010

Mauger says a 2013 change to state election law is the likely reason for the spending increase.

A Michigan State University political scientist is predicting we could see the largest voter turnout for a mid-term election in Michigan in 20 years.

Prof. Corwin Smidt hasn’t been looking at polling or political campaign commercials.

If not voting was a candidate in Michigan's general elections, it would win a lot. The chart above breaks down how Michiganders voted — or didn't — in the last six general elections. 

Midterm elections always draw fewer voters to the polls than presidential years. But, even by midterm standards, Michigan's 2014 voter turnout was unimpressive. It was the lowest it had been in 24 years — since 1990. We published a story and graph on that back then.

Tuesday, Michigan voters will decide if they want to legalize recreational marijuana.

Meanwhile, there are conflicting views on whether legal weed will make Michigan’s streets more dangerous.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, collision claims are the most frequent kind of claims insurers receive.

The Secretary of State's office is not expecting any widespread problems that would interfere with the smooth running of next Tuesday's election.

According to Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams, it is not unusual for there to be small problems at the precinct level. But he said these are typically solved locally by the 1,520 clerks across the state.

A two-day business conference opened Tuesday in Detroit with vendors talking about growing, marketing and selling marijuana.

Next week, Michigan votes on legalizing recreational marijuana. The folks attending the Commercial Cannabis Conference and Expo are banking on Michiganders saying yes.

More than 1,500 attendees were checking out lamps, security doors, and other services at dozens of booths set up in one of the meeting halls at Cobo Center. 

Tim Suprise of Kalamazoo lived up to his name this week, when he was featured in campaign videos for both the Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate candidates this week.

On Monday, Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow released an ad touting her support of the craft beer industry, featuring Arcadia Brewing Company founder Tim Suprise.