Elections & Northern Michigan Politics

Ron Clous, vice chair of the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners, showed off a rifle as a constituent voiced concerns about guns during a virtual meeting Wednesday.

U.S. Congressman Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) says he will object to the certification of the November election results this week. He’ll join several other Republicans from both chambers that will challenge the results due to unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

In a flurry of action at the end of the Legislative Session in Lansing Monday, State Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) was let back into the Republican caucus in the Michigan House of Representatives.

The Iron Pig Smokehouse in Gaylord and Friske’s Farm Market in Antrim County have repeatedly defied health and safety protocols during the pandemic despite enforcement from their local health department.

Republican-led State House and Senate committees met today to vote themselves subpoena power to examine the conduct of the election. The vote by the joint House and Senate oversight committees fell along party lines.

According to unofficial election results, Republican John Roth has kept Michigan’s 104th State House District red.

Roth won a clear victory for the GOP yesterday in a race that has been increasingly competitive in recent elections. 

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services is lowering the number of people allowed at indoor gatherings and sending the Traverse City region back to Phase 4 of the MISafeStart Plan. The move comes as the state sees record-high COVID cases.

More than just the presidency is at stake in November's general election. Grand Traverse County's 104th District in the state house is one of four seats that Democrats want to flip to get a partisan majority.

Jill Biden, wife of Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, spoke in Traverse City on Tuesday.

A crowd of over 100 people wearing masks and sitting six-feet apart listened outside Right Brain Brewery as Biden called for early in-person and mail-in voting.

“We have to show them we’re not gonna sit by and just watch what happens. We’re going to decide what happens by voting today,” she said.

Biden said her husband would unify the country if elected. Chasten Buttigieg, Traverse City native and husband of former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, also spoke.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was the keynote speaker at a campaign event in Traverse City Friday. In his speech he said he views winning Michigan as key to securing President Donald Trump’s re-election bid.

Unofficial election results are in for Michigan's August Primary. The following results are subject to change as more information comes in.

1st Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) ran unopposed in Tuesday's primary. His Democratic challenger is Dana Ferguson, who won the party's nomination. Michigan's 1st Congressional District is comprised of the entire Upper Peninsula and parts of northern Lower Michigan.

101st State House Seat

Clerks across the northwest lower Michigan region say they’re getting a lot of mail-in ballots for Tuesday’s primary.

“We have more than doubled the number of absentee ballots that have been cast for this election compared to the August 2016 election,” Traverse City Clerk Benjamin Marentette said.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Secretary of State has pushed for voters to use absentee ballots. As of July 28, the state has given out 1,977,116 absentee ballots. For context, by July of 2016 the state had only given out 546,032.

Several proposals on the ballot for Tuesday’s election passed in northern Michigan.

Here’s a list of unofficial results to ballot proposals:

On Tuesday, May 5 residents across Michigan will vote on local ballot proposals. Due to the coronavirus pandemic most voting will be done by mail, but there will be some in-person options for those who want or need it.

State House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Triston Cole (R-Mancelona) is running for Antrim County Sheriff.

Cole has represented northern Michigan’s 105th district - which includes parts of Antrim, Otsego, Charlevoix, Montmorency and Oscoda counties - in the state house since 2014. 

More Democrats are running for office in Grand Traverse County than ever before, says the local Democratic chair.

Democrats will run for seats in county government, including board of commissioners and township trustee, according to a press release.

“There is a lot of energy … for change, transparency and a different form of government than what everybody seems to be used to,” says Grand Traverse County Democrat Party Chair Chris Cracchiolo.

The state house majority leader wants the Governor to let some Michigan businesses get back to work. State Rep. Triston Cole (R-Mancelona) said so in a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer late Monday.