DETROIT, Mich. — Democrats will keep all three of Michigan’s top elected executive offices after Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit won the attorney general race and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II captured secretary of state in Tuesday’s election.
Savit beat Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, the Republican nominee. The race was called at 2:28 a.m. Wednesday, and with about 96% of the expected vote counted he led 52.5% to 44.7%, an edge of roughly 362,000 votes. He declared victory around 2 a.m. at the state Democratic Party watch party.
Outgoing Attorney General Dana Nessel, barred by term limits from running again, endorsed Savit and will hand him the office. Michigan Democrats picked Savit, a progressive, at their April convention over Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who was seen as the more moderate choice. Four minor-party candidates split the rest of the vote.
In the secretary of state race, Gilchrist defeated Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, the Republican, by close to 8 points, 52.1% to 44.4% in unofficial returns. The race was called at 2 a.m., and Forlini conceded in a written statement shortly before 2:30 a.m., congratulating Gilchrist and saying he respected the outcome.
Gilchrist will take over the office that runs Michigan elections and driver services from Jocelyn Benson, who was elected governor the same night. Polls in late October had shown him ahead by nine and 11 points, helped by name recognition from his years as lieutenant governor.
With Benson at the top of the ticket, the results extend a Democratic hold on the governor, attorney general and secretary of state posts that dates to 2018. Democrats also claimed victory in both chambers of the Legislature, which would give the party full control of state government again after Republicans won the House in 2024.
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