Michigan races too close to call as voters chart course for state in 2022 election

Michiganders picked their course for the future Tuesday, but results were not clear heading into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

However, Michigan Democrats were cautiously optimistic, as were supporters of the three proposed constitutional amendments.

With about one-third of the votes totaled at 11:30 p.m. in an unofficial tally, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had about 837,800 votes compared with 751,600 for GOP challenger Tudor Dixon. That's a 52% to 47% edge for Whitmer, but the race was not yet called.

Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has 848,000, more than the 708,800 for Republican candidate Kristina Karamo, with about 32.5% of all votes recorded. That puts Benson at 53% and Karamo at 45%.

At 32.1% of votes tallied, Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel led Republican opponent Matthew DePerno 51% to 47%. Nessel had 795,000 votes, while DePerno had 738,500.

Proposal 3, the amendment to include abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution, also garnered about 821,600 votes in favor and 675,000 against with 31.2% of votes counted. That's a 55% to 45% lead for the amendment supporters.

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Most votes in Oakland County were tallied, a metro Detroit area that has become a Democratic hotbed in recent elections. But Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Lansing and other large areas did not report a majority of votes counted by deadline.

Experts expected more than 4 million people voted in Michigan's midterm elections. But a series of foreseen and predictable factors means the state likely won't know who it picked for governor, which party controls state legislative chambers or whether people approved changes to the Michigan Constitution until at least Wednesday morning.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. About 2 million people voted in person Tuesday, with approximately 2 million submitting absentee ballots. Due to Michigan state law, clerks can't start counting absentee ballots until Election Day. It's a slow and tedious process, one that frequently requires working late into the night for larger cities, like Detroit.

While individual candidates may proclaim victory, their statements have no bearing on the final vote tally. The Free Press relies on the Associated Press to make calls on when races are decided, although this analysis is based on unofficial vote totals.

The total turnout this year is a little less than half of the total registered voters, and about 1.5 million fewer voters than in the 2020 presidential election. It's common for non-presidential elections to draw less voter attention.

While opinion polls ahead of the election showed Whitmer generally appeared to be safe, lower voter turnout and a national political climate favoring the GOP may create an opportunity for Dixon to oust a Democrat considered on the rise.

Both candidates voted Tuesday before interacting with voters across the state. A Norton Shores resident, Dixon spent time in west Michigan before heading to an election night party in Grand Rapids. Whitmer fired up volunteers in Lansing in the morning then departed to do the same in Detroit — the bigger the turnout in Michigan's biggest city, the better her chances of winning reelection. She watched election returns at Motor City Casino in Detroit with other Democrats.

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The governor's fate is also largely intertwined with the prospects of Proposal 3, the suggested amendment that would codify the right to an abortion in the Michigan Constitution.

Opponents and supporters combined to spend more than $42 million this year fighting over the proposal. Whitmer and other supporters argue the measure restores rights afforded under Roe v. Wade, a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned earlier this year. But opponents, namely the Michigan Catholic Conference and Right to Life Michigan, note the language in the proposed amendment is broad.

While opponents stoked fears about the ramifications of approving the amendment, if Michiganders do vote in favor of the proposal then a flurry of legal challenges and years of judicial wrangling will decide the ultimate impact of the language.

Mark and Amy Miller headed to the polls at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center in Oakland County on Tuesday morning with their two children Noah, 7, and Abby, 5.

Amy, who is Catholic, voted in support of Proposal 3. The 36-year-old said she always thinks it's vital to vote, but the abortion amendment was especially motivating this year.

“It is important for me and for my daughter, that’s why I brought her along with me today,” Miller said.

Karamo, one of many Republican candidates who rose to political prominence through promoting conspiracies about the 2020 election already telegraphed she may challenge the results this year. She tweeted, incorrectly, about issues some Detroit voters encountered early Tuesday morning, alluding to a lawsuit she filed recently that referenced absentee voting in the city. A Detroit judge tossed the lawsuit Monday, noting it lack "any shred of evidence."

The Republicans' best shot at picking up a statewide office is in the race for attorney general. After waging what many perceived as the tightest statewide contest all fall, early results show Nessel running slightly behind both Whitmer and Nessel. That does not mean she'll lose, but it indicates the chance for a closer race than either of the other statewide contests.

DePerno consistently polled very closely with Nessel. That comes despite DePerno struggling to raise money and fending off an ongoing criminal investigation — he's accused of illegally tampering with and accessing election equipment, although not charged, and he denies the allegation.

DePerno blasted Nessel on any number of issues, from her office's inability to get convictions in the Flint water crisis cases to a quip she made about having drag queens in schools.

Nessel fired back more recently, noting DePerno supports banning the morning after pill after likening it to fentanyl and continues to spread false election allegations.

The attorney general race is one of several where cultural issues drove much of the discussion. DePerno championed efforts in Dearborn and elsewhere to limit access to books that had certain themes, frequently with characters who identified as members of the LGBTQ community.

At the Salter Community Center in Royal Oak on Tuesday, Sean Kelly, 47, said concerns about book bans in schools partially motivated him to vote. Parents may not like certain books, he said, but they could turn out to be lifesaving for other children.

“I think people are distracted by the culture war. … That's a distraction from the real issues,” he said.

Early results appear to show voters support the two proposed constitutional amendments that do not deal with abortion.

Other seats up for grabs include state Senate and House positions, two spots on the Michigan Supreme Court, a handful of places on university boards and many local races.

Free Press staff writers Susan Tompor and Lily Altavena contributed to this report.

Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan races too close to call in early election returns