Bolden and Thomas win elections to the Michigan Supreme Court

Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Thomas won elections for two Michigan Supreme Court seats, expanding the Democratic majority on the state’s highest court.

Bolden, an incumbent judge who was nominated by the Democrats for a four-year term, lost to Branch County Circuit Judge Patrick William O’Grady. With an estimated 76% of ballots counted early Wednesday, Bolden received 61% of the vote while O’Grady received 39% of the vote, according to unofficial results compiled by the Associated Press.

And in the other Supreme Court race, voters supported Democratic nominee Thomas for a full eight-year term. With an estimated 76% of ballots counted, Thomas received 61% of the vote while Fink received 39% of the vote, according to unofficial results compiled by the Associated Press.

Bolden was running to serve the remainder of her term after being appointed to the bench in 2023 to succeed retiring Judge Bridget McCormack. Thomas and Fink were running for an open seat after Republican-backed Judge David Viviano announced earlier this year that he would not seek another term.

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and is tasked with deciding and resolving litigation in lower courts.

The Democrats now expand their majority in the square to 5:2. Although the races fell under the nonpartisan range, to appear on the ballot, candidates must be nominated by a political party at nominating conventions.

In recent years, the court has issued several notable rulings, including determining eligibility for gubernatorial and presidential candidates in 2022 and 2024, finding that prosecutors improperly appointed a one-man grand jury to decide several to indict former state officials for their role in the Flint Water crisis, which led to the termination of prosecutions; And most recently, in 2018, the governing legislature acted unconstitutionally when they set Michigan’s minimum wage scale. In that ruling, the majority opinion directed the state to establish a new tariff that would increase the minimum wage to nearly $15 an hour by 2028.

Bolden and Thomas, the Democratic nominees, had focused their campaigns on improving justice in Michigan’s justice system. O’Grady and Fink, backed by the GOP, said they disagreed with the court’s recent opinions.

Since 2020, Republicans have no longer had a majority on the court.

Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]

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