Livingston County Democrats have plenty to celebrate after the Nov. 8 election. Election results show that Livingston County racked up the 10th most votes for the top of the ticket among all 83 counties, re-elected U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin to a third term, elected a Democrat to represent us in Lansing for the first time since 1991-92, and increased its share of straight ticket voters.
“Livingston County is essential to Democrats winning statewide, and election after election, our volunteers make sure we find every possible vote,” said Judy Daubenmier, local party chair. “These results are due to their hard work and the excellent quality of our candidates.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won 46,522 votes here, good for 42.8 percent of the total votes cast. She carried 14 precincts in our county on her way to winning a second term. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson did even better, winning 49,059 votes, good for 45.3 percent of the ballots cast. She carried 24 precincts. Attorney General Dana Nessel won 44,274 votes, or 41.6 percent of the vote, while carrying 13 precincts.
Elissa Slotkin continued her tradition of “losing better” here by capturing 44,438 votes, or 41.2 percent of the total. That’s 2.9 percentage points better than her 2018 race. She carried 8 precincts.
On top of that, Jennifer Conlin won a seat in the Michigan House representing the new 48th House District, which includes Genoa, Hamburg, the village of Pinckney, and the southeast corner of Putnam Township, picking up 43 percent of the vote there. Jennifer is the first Democrat to represent part of Livingston County in the Michigan House since Rep. Clark Harder represented Deerfield, Cohoctah, and Oceola Townships in 1991-92.
“The voter-approved independent redistricting process created fair maps that allowed Democrats to compete and win. Jennifer knocked on thousands of Livingston County doors to introduce herself to voters and it paid off. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court decision taking away reproductive freedom from Americans brought many moderate Republicans into our column,” Daubenmier said. That is clear from the straight ticket voting totals. Republican straight ticket voters fell 5.5 percentage points from 2020 to 35,446 while Democratic straight ticket voters rose 5.5 percentage points to 22,224.
The many quality candidates running locally helped boost those straight ticket numbers – including Christina Kafkakis in the 49th House District, Glen Miller in the 50th House District, and Jordan Genso in the 22nd State Senate District. All improved on the percentage of vote totals compared to candidates in those districts in 2018.
Democratic county commission candidates also performed well in gerrymandered local districts, with three collecting at least 40 percent of the vote – Amber Bismack in District 8 (Hamburg-Genoa), Caitlyn Perry Dial in District 7 (City of Brighton-Brighton Township), and Christine Kaczkowski in District 9 (Green Oak).
Two of the three ballot proposals passed here as well – Prop 1, which changed term limits, carried with 63.6 percent of the vote, and Prop 2, which secured voting rights, carried with 51.41 percent. Prop 3, which put reproductive freedom into the Michigan Constitution, nearly carried here, with 49.4 percent of the vote.
“We know there is much work to be done for Democrats here in Livingston County, and we won’t rest until we win more local races, but in the meantime, we need to celebrate our progress and our wins. And especially to thank our many volunteers – over and over again,” Daubenmier said.
(Paid for by Livingston County Democratic Executive Committee, 8028 Grand River, Woodland Plaza Suite 7, Brighton, MI 48114.)