Jocelyn Benson beats Kristina Karamo in Michigan's Secretary of State race

Michigan voters reelected incumbent Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to serve a second term.

As of 2:11 p.m. with an estimated 89% of the vote counted, Benson received 55.8% of votes cast while her Republican challenger Kristina Karamo garnered 41.9% of the vote, according to unofficial results compiled by the Associated Press, which called the race for Benson.

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Michigan was one of several battleground states where election officials, courts and lawmakers fended off efforts by allies of former President Donald Trump including Karamo to overturn the election results in 2020. Benson has vigorously defended the administration of the last presidential election and cast her own reelection campaign against Karamo as a battle to uphold American democracy.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to serve you for another four years," Benson said when she took the stage at a Democratic party at Motor City Casino in Detroit late Tuesday night. She said voters rejected conspiracy theories for truth in a speech delivered before the Associated Press called the race. "We came together as Americans and Michiganders to stand for the basic ideals of our country," and "we will not back down" when faced with lies, she said. "The will of the people is on our side."

Benson was first elected as secretary of state in 2018, the same year that Michigan voters adopted a constitutional amendment allowing voter registration on Election Day and all voters to cast absentee ballots. Her office helped implement those changes and drew the ire of Trump and his allies when Benson mailed absentee ballot applications in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karamo was one of several Trump-backed secretary of state candidates vying to serve as top election officials in swing states the former president lost in 2020. Karamo has falsely claimed that the last election was stolen and joined legal efforts to thwart the will of voters and overturn the results in Michigan and other states.

In the days leading up to the election, Benson blasted a legal bid by Karamo that initially asked a court to declare tens of thousands of Detroit absentee ballots invalid. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny dismissed the lawsuit, writing in a blistering opinion that those who brought it "failed... to produce any shred of evidence" and wrote that the harm it posed to voters was "not only unprecedented, it is intolerable."

On Tuesday, Karamo seized on an isolated clerical error in Detroit to allege fraud had occurred. On his own social media account, Trump amplified the unfounded claim about Detroit's absentee voting, prompting a tweet from Benson urging the former president not to "spread lies to foment or encourage political violence in our state." Karamo also leveled without evidence allegations of election fraud and misconduct elsewhere in Michigan, including in Ann Arbor and Oakland County.

Benson said the misinformation was emblematic of bad actors working to undermine faith in elections by seizing upon "traditionally mundane and harmless issues" that arise while administering elections.

"And I think voters just need to see that for what it is and to recognize that that’s a political strategy," she said during a news briefing after the polls closed in Michigan. "It's not a reflection in any way about the lack of security of the system or any actual problems with the elections themselves."

The Free Press was blocked from covering an election night event put on by the Michigan Conservative Coalition Karamo was expected to attend. The organization initially credentialed the Free Press but revoked it after GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno's campaign took issue with an editorial. The Free Press editorial page operates independently of its news coverage.

"We are looking forward to hosting more than 20 different news outlets at our Election night party. However, the Detroit Free Press will not be one of these credentialed outlets that is admitted. We fully support and encourage the freedom of the press, however the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board took the unprecedented step of attacking us for a second time because to their shock and amazement Matt DePerno was winning," the campaign said in a statement emailed Monday, before polls had opened or ballot counting had begun.

Ahead of the midterm election, Karamo trailed Benson in the polls, fundraising and name recognition.

While on the campaign trail, Karamo solicited support for her secretary of state bid on a panel hosted by a self-described Catholic digital media outfit deemed an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, held a news briefing with election conspiracist Patrick Colbeck and made multiple appearances at Trump rallies at which the former president continued to lie about his loss in 2020. Karamo, a self-described Christian apologist, called politics "just another arena to fight out of the spiritual battle that we are in all the time" during one episode of her podcast.

"You cannot bring religion into everything," said Alicia Smith, a 35-year-old Detroit voter, of Karamo. "If you're running for a public office, you have to be unbiased. I mean you to think of not only of yourself but for the collective."

Karamo railed against Benson's actions in office while leaving her own vision for what she would do if elected unclear, including on actions she might take to review the 2020 election or whether she would join Republican calls to hand count ballots in elections instead of relying on voting machines.

Michigan is home to the nation's most decentralized election system. The secretary of state plays a supervisory role overseeing more than 1,500 local clerks who administer elections. In Michigan, the Secretary of State's Office also manages branch offices that issue driver's licenses and handle vehicle registrations and tag renewals. Benson encountered bipartisan pushback following her decision to move to an appointment-only system. She says the change has significantly reduced wait times and those without appointments are able to be seen within 24 hours if they walk-in seeking services.

"I feel just overall Jocelyn Benson has done an excellent job," said Smith, who highlighted services at branch offices she said have become more convenient.

The next secretary of state will serve a four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The Michigan Constitution limits those serving in the office to two terms.

County canvassing boards must review and sign off on the election results by Nov. 22. The Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet Nov. 28 to certify the election.

Staff writer Paul Egan contributed to this report

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jocelyn Benson wins 2022 Michigan Secretary of State race