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Michigan Farm Bureau Family of Companies

Emerging Issue: Attorney General & Secretary of State Nomination

Image credit: Getty Images
Date Posted: April 14, 2023

Michigan voters in primary elections select their choice for nominees in the party primary they vote in for most offices including Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, State Senate, State Representative, and county and township offices. 

Currently, the offices of Attorney General (AG) and Secretary of State (SOS) are not included in this process. Instead, Republicans and Democrats select their nominees for AG and SOS at state party conventions. 

There is a group of reformers who want to change that and put the AG and SOS offices on the primary ballot, and they are gathering feedback on a ballot proposal to do just that.

The concern is that the extremes in the two parties are the ones selecting the candidates. Some feel that nominating candidates this way is outdated, undemocratic and corrupt. Additionally, a small group of about 1,000 party activists are the ones voting at state party conventions compared to the nearly 2 million people that voted in the 2022 primary.        

Policy References

MFB #62 Elections

Thoughts to Consider

Should political parties in Michigan use the primary process to nominate candidates for Attorney General and Secretary of State?  

Would nominating candidates in the primary process be a better approach leading to more involvement and input from voters? 

Would the primary process lead to nominated candidates that are more reflective of most voters in each party?   

Matt Kapp headshot

Matt Kapp

Government Relations Specialist
517-679-5338 [email protected]