Democratic-backed justices look to defend control of Michigan’s Supreme Court

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DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democrats and their allies were defending their majority on the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday after a campaign marked by exorbitant spending.

Court races are nonpartisan but candidates are nominated at party conventions. Democratic-backed justices currently hold a 4-3 edge, and Republicans have sought to flip it to regain a margin of control in a state dominated by Democrats for the past two years. They need to win both seats up for election to do so.

The four candidates largely spent their official campaign resources on touting their career experiences and qualifications, leaving state parties and outside spending groups to define the issues.

Republican-backed Judge Patrick O’Grady is seeking election to the seat held by Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who unsuccessfully ran for the court before she was appointed to a vacancy in 2022 by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

She’s the first Black woman on the bench and would be the first to be elected justice if she wins the race. O’Grady has campaigned on his experience as a state trooper, prosecutor and longtime circuit judge in southern Michigan. The winner will serve the last four years of the eight-year term vacated in 2022 by former Justice Bridget McCormick.

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Republican nominee state Rep. Andrew Fink and Democratic nominee law professor Kimberly Anne Thomas are competing for a full-term seat being vacated by Justice David Viviano, a Republican-backed justice. Thomas and Bolden have campaigned arm and arm since they were officially nominated by the Democratic party in August.

Fink, like O’Grady, has said his election would restore balance to a court accused of “legislating from the bench” in favor of liberal causes and Democratic policy in recent years.

Abortion access was enshrined in the state constitution by voters in 2022. Democratic allies have framed the race through the lens of reproductive rights, saying the court has the potential to rule on abortion in the future. Republicans have rejected this idea, saying the amendment finalized abortion protections that cannot be undone.