Michigan Election 2022: Whitmer wins 2nd term, statewide proposals pass

Michigan voters on Tuesday decided to enshrine reproductive rights, early voting and financial disclosures on behalf of certain elected officials into the state constitution. Voters in Oakland County came out to support transit. Democrats have won the majority in the Legislature and a majority of seats in Michigan's congressional delegation.

Meanwhile, incumbents Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel won their respective races, according to the Associated Press' unofficial results. So did incumbent Supreme Court justices Richard Bernstein and Brian Zahra.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee defeated Republican nominee Paul Junge in a contest for the newly drawn 8th Congressional District. Voters in the Grand Rapids area elected Democratic congressional representation for the first time since the 1970s. And Democrat Elissa Slotkin won re-election in Michigan's 7th Congressional District in what was expected to be one of the most expensive races in the country.

Here's a roundup of local and statewide news from Tuesday's election.

• Find all 2022 Michigan election results here

• Election Day highlights: Record turnout expected; Feds monitor 5 Michigan cities; see what drove people to vote.

• Proposal 1: Michiganders approve modifying term limits, requiring disclosures

• Proposal 2: Michigan voters OK early voting measure

• Proposal 3: Voters in Michigan embrace abortion rights amendment

• Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib elected to represent Detroit in Congress

• Michigan's US House races: Stevens, Dingell, McClain cruise to victory

Marijuana on ballots across the region

A dozen municipalities in metro Detroit had marijuana proposals on their ballots Tuesday, the majority of which were approved by voters, paving the way to allow cannabis businesses within their communities.

Municipalities such as Chesterfield Township, Auburn Hills and Belleville join the hundreds of communities across Michigan that now allow marijuana establishments — such as retailers, growers and processors, among other types of businesses. Read about what happened in the metro Detroit communities that had marijuana proposals on the ballot.

- Adrienne Roberts

Nessel reelected, defeats GOP challenger DePerno for AG race

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will keep her seat as the state's top law enforcement officer as she defeated Republican challenger Matthew DePerno by a substantial margin in the race for attorney general.

As of Wednesday morning, with 87% of ballots tallied, Nessel had 53% of the votes to DePerno's 45%, according to unofficial results. Read more about the race.

− Dave Boucher

Benson beats Karamo in Michigan's Secretary of State race

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

Benson received 55% of votes cast while her Republican challenger Kristina Karamo garnered 42% of the vote, according to unofficial results compiled by the Associated Press, which called the race for Benson.

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. Read more about the race.

− Clara Hendrickson

Kildee beats Junge in race for Flint-area US House seat

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, on Wednesday defeated Republican nominee Paul Junge in a contest for a mid-Michigan congressional seat, with the Associated Press calling the race about 10:15 a.m.

Kildee led Junge 53%-43% with 79% of the expected vote counted, according to the AP's unofficial count as of Wednesday morning, in a race for the newly drawn 8th Congressional District. Read more about the race.

− Todd Spangler

Dixon concedes race for Michigan governor; Whitmer pledges to 'step on the accelerator'

Republican Tudor Dixon conceded the race for Michigan governor to incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday morning.

"I called Gov. Whitmer this morning to concede and wish her well," Dixon said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Whitmer, buoyed by Democratic victories in a stunning Michigan election, said Wednesday morning that she and her team are about to "step on the accelerator" in bringing progressive change to the state. Whitmer, a Democratic attorney and former state lawmaker from East Lansing, was leading Dixon, a Norton Shores businesswoman and former TV commentator, 54% to 44%, with about 88% of the statewide vote counted in an unofficial tally at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The Associated Press called the race for Whitmer at about 1:20 a.m.

− Paul Egan

All 3 statewide constitutional amendments pass

Michigan voters made three amendments to the state constitution, adding early voting, reproductive rights, and an amendment that would require financial disclosures from some elected officials and modify legislative term limits. Here's what each approved proposal would do:

Proposal 1: Reduces the total number of years state lawmakers can spend in Lansing while increasing the time they can serve in one chamber. It would also create new financial disclosure requirements for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and state legislators.

Proposal 2: Establishes early voting in Michigan, expands access to absentee voting, and codifies current voter ID rules in the Michigan Constitution.

Proposal 3: Establishes a "fundamental right to reproductive freedom," which includes — but is not limited to — the right to seek an abortion. It also protects a right to contraception and infertility care.

− Clara Hendrickson

Transit leads across metro Detroit

Regional transit efforts got a big boost Tuesday as voters in Oakland County appeared to OK a countywide transit millage for the first time. The measure was leading during counting Wednesday morning in neighboring Wayne County and passed in Macomb County. The vote in Oakland County marks a dramatic shift in the conversation from earlier this year when Auburn Hills attempted to pull the city out of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), a move later blocked by a judge. Instead, metro Detroit, a region that has appeared at times hostile to the very concept of transit, is now set for the largest expansion of public transportation in decades. Read the full story on transit measures in metro Detroit.

- Eric D. Lawrence and Christina Hall

Elissa Slotkin narrowly beats Tom Barrett mid-Michigan congressional seat

In what was expected to be one of the most expensive U.S. House races in the country, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, on Wednesday morning defeated state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, in a hard-fought race for a newly drawn mid-Michigan district. Around 3:30 a.m., Slotkin said she had received a call from Barrett conceding the race. The victory improves the likelihood that Democrats will hold a slim majority in the state's now 13-member delegation to the U.S. House. Read more about the race.

- Todd Spangler

Grand Rapids U.S. House seat goes to a Democrat

Democrat Hillary Scholten has defeated Republican challenger John Gibbs for the open seat in Michigan’s new 3^rd Congressional District. Scholten will be the first Democratic representative for the Grand Rapids area in decades.

Scholten, a former Department of Justice attorney, will be the first Democrat to represent the greater-Grand Rapids area since the 1970s. It’s been even longer since a woman has represented any part of Michigan’s western half — Ruth Thompson represented part of Muskegon in the 1950s. Read more about the 3rd Congressional race.

− Arpan Lobo

Voters return Michigan Supreme Court incumbents to the bench

Incumbent Michigan Supreme Court justices Richard Bernstein and Brian Zahra are projected to retain their seats on the state's high court. The outcome means Democratic-nominated justices retain a 4-3 majority on the seven-member court. The two winners of Tuesday’s race will serve eight-year terms on the bench, beginning Jan. 1, 2023. Read more about this race here.

− Arpan Lobo

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Election 2022: Live updates Wednesday, November 9