General Election Overview: Michigan Secretary of State

Liz Gullett

Sep 10, 2018

Through the general election on November 6, the MLC Blog will be highlighting races generally considered swing seats, ones either party could win because of the voter base. Candidate’s website and professional information is listed when available.

Commentary

The last three Michigan Secretaries of State have been from the Republican Party. However, prior to that the very popular Democrat Richard Austin served from 1971-1995 and prior to him another member of the Democratic Party held the seat from 1955-1971.

Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson previously ran for this seat in 2010 but was defeated by current Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. This November, she’s running against the Vice President of the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents, Mary Treder Lang. This will be another race to watch what effect a potential “blue wave” may have.

Democratic Candidate:

Jocelyn Benson – Attorney, CEO and Executive Director of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, former Dean of Wayne State University Law School, author of a book on the role of Secretary of State, serves on the advisory board of iCivics, a non-profit founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Republican Candidate:

Mary Treder Lang – Vice Chair of Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents, Certified Public Accountant, executive management professional, former computer security expert

Libertarian Candidate:

Gregory Scott Stempfle – Medical technologist

U.S. Taxpayers Candidate:

Robert Gale

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