Democrats may make secretary of state post the consolation prize … again

Since longtime Secretary of State Dick Austin was beat in 1994, the Michigan Democratic Party has taken two approaches to picking their Secretary of State nominee.

One: Pick someone who adds geographical, gender and racial balance to the ticket.

Two: Pick an elections-connected person to sell themselves and the job.

Rarely have the two collided in a real convention race, but this year should be the exception.

In the first approach, Godfrey Dillard (2014), Butch Hollowell (2002) and Mary Lou Parks (1998) were the nominees. 

In the second approach, we had Macomb Clerk Carmella Sabaugh (2006) and an attorney named Jocelyn Benson (2006, 2010 and 2018).

Outside of Hollowell in 2002, there wasn’t much of a race for these nominations. Delegates didn’t get many choices. When they did, they defaulted to the labor-backed “Unity Slate” and that was that.

Today, there’s five candidates. Michigan Democratic delegates in 2026 can choose their own adventure.

Here’s the short recap:

When Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie got into the race to succeed his boss nearly a year ago, it made a lot of sense. He’s basically Benson’s understudy.

Last May, when Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum formed her committee to run, it surprised absolutely no one. Byrum has been the Capitol area’s authority on local elections for a few cycles now.

You want to publicly criticize our election, but have your head stuck firmly in your backside? Byrum will call you out on social media quickly and decisively.

For a while, it seemed as if the field was set.

Then the whisper campaign kicked in. Was Edevbie too nerdy and socially awkward to win statewide? How would Byrum combat rumors that she used her political connections to tip the scales to help her son out of a problem at Mason schools? Would it sink her in a general election?

At that point, seeking the Secretary of State nomination became a landing pad for the upwardly mobile. 

Former state Sen. Adam Hollier read the tea leaves, realized he wasn’t going to win a congressional seat in Detroit and decided to give Secretary of State a try in September.

After Thanksgiving, then-Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli made her leap into the race with a snazzy video of her on ice skates and serving coffee at the family restaurant (two separate shots).

And then, this week, Lt. Gov. Gilchrist came to terms with his withering gubernatorial run and decided Secretary of State was where his true calling was instead. The announcement was followed by an endorsement from the Carpenters union.

Neither Gov. Gretchen Whitmer nor Attorney General Dana Nessel have endorsed yet. The Michigan Education Association, the League of Conservation Voters and the UAW are set to do their candidate interviews next week.

If one candidate sweeps all three, it’ll be a huge boost for that candidate, but organized labor and special interest groups don’t call the shots like they did in years past. Dana Nessel was not Labor’s candidate in 2018. 

The nearly 7,000 convention attendees made it clear that they were in charge. They wanted Nessel.

This year’s April 19 convention at Huntington promises to be similar, if last year’s 50501 protests and out-of-state elections are any clue.

Do delegates pick the candidate whose been pushing it the longest and has worked in the office at a high level? (Edevbie). The person with the most elections management experience who has put in arguably the most work (Byrum). The person with the highest statewide name ID and profile (Gilchrist). A more retail politician who may have more shine in November (Hollier)? Or a fresh face with allegedly more financial resources (Shkreli).

Is it based on who could best do the job or on who squares the ticket best?

Here’s the Democrats’ record in the last seven conventions: Best person for the job: 2 wins, 2 losses (Benson ‘10, Macomb Clerk Carmella Sabaugh ‘06). Person who best squares the ticket: 0 wins, 3 losses.

 (Kyle Melinn is the editor of the Capitol news service MIRS. You can email him at melinnky@gmail.com.)