Michigan Republicans have selected Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini to be their secretary of state candidate, moving a key piece into place for November's closely watched contest to be the state's next top election official.
At the Michigan Republican Party's endorsement convention in Novi on Saturday, Forlini won 55% of the vote on the first ballot, avoiding a second round of voting. Oakland County activist Monica Yatooma received 25%, and Clarkston school board member Amanda Love received 19%.
Unlike in most other states, Michigan parties select their nominees for secretary of state and certain other down-ballot offices, like attorney general, through a delegate vote at conventions, not in statewide primaries. Democrats will select their secretary of state nominee at their convention on April 19.
The winner of the November general election will succeed Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is term-limited and running for governor. As Michigan's top election official, their job duties will include issuing IDs, registering vehicles, and overseeing the 2028 presidential election in the crucial swing state.
If Forlini wins the general election, he would be the state's first Republican to hold the office since Ruth Johnson from 2011 to 2019.
Forlini's Experience Running Elections
Forlini was elected Macomb County clerk in 2020 and won a second term in 2024. As part of that job, he oversees elections in the state's third-most-populous county and maintains vital records, such as marriage licenses and birth and death certificates.
A graduate of Western Michigan University, he previously served in the Michigan House and as supervisor of Harrison Township and has also run a financial services firm. He has three children and four grandchildren.
Forlini's supporters credited his victory to his experience running elections. Brian Pannebecker, a delegate from Macomb County, said he voted for Forlini because he's known him for more than two decades and considers him a good person. "I've followed his career, from Harrison Township to state rep, and I know him to be honest and a decent family man," he said.
Even those who voted for other candidates liked Forlini's background. "Forlini seems like a good guy," said Bill Holt, an Oakland County delegate who wore an Amanda Love shirt at the convention. "He's got good experience."
Forlini was excited but subdued after his victory, explaining that he had a cold. But he told reporters he was looking forward to campaigning to a broader base of voters now. "I think that's what Michiganders are looking for," he said of his campaign message. "People in Macomb County, a purple county, are looking for people to work hard and do the job. The politics is not important. It's important we do what we say we're going to do."
Conventiongoers were also excited about Forlini's perceived electability, a top concern for the party after it nominated Kristina Karamo as its secretary of state candidate in 2022. Karamo, who repeated Trump's baseless claims of large-scale voter fraud in the 2020 election, lost to Benson 56% to 42%.
Pannebecker expected Forlini would be able to turn out voters who otherwise might not cast ballots in the midterms. "He's got a loyal base," Pannebecker said. "He's well known and well liked. It's going to make a difference."
Sen. Jim Runestad, the chair of the Michigan GOP, said that Forlini and Doug Lloyd, who was nominated for attorney general, are both "highly qualified" candidates. Forlini "has done a wonderful job" as Macomb clerk, Runestad said, and has a track record of defeating incumbent Democrats in past elections. "We couldn't have gotten a better candidate for secretary of state," he said.
Forlini's Platform Emphasizes Election Security
Stylistically, Forlini is more of a mainstream conservative than his rival Yatooma, a prolific X poster who won backing from a number of prominent people who have cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election and campaigned at the convention with signs that read, "ARREST JOCELYN BENSON."
But Forlini has still made election security a major focus of his campaign and tenure as Macomb County clerk. That was a top issue for conservative voters across the convention, Pannebecker said.
Forlini regularly touts that, as clerk, he conducted a forensic audit of the 2020 election in his county, which turned up no outside interference. He also introduced watermarked paper for ballots and hash validations on tabulators — an algorithmic tool that helps election officials verify software was not tampered with after certification.
Ahead of the 2024 election, he trained poll workers at the county level — unusual in Michigan, where each municipality runs its own elections — to ensure everything across the county would run smoothly.
As secretary of state, Forlini has promised to clean up the voter rolls and provide additional training for election workers. Forlini has also teamed up with Americans for Citizens Voting, a group attempting to put a question on the November ballot about whether Michiganders should need to prove their citizenship to register to vote.
He promoted a number of ACV's signature-gathering events over the winter and encouraged those who were gathering signatures for the effort to make sure they returned them to be counted. When ACV announced it had enough signatures to potentially make the ballot, Forlini called it "phenomenal" in a campaign email.
Forlini has also attempted to root out noncitizens on the voter roll in Macomb County using the list of people who claimed to be noncitizens to get out of jury duty. His investigation identified 15 potential noncitizens, but the Michigan Department of State later found the number was smaller and that a number of people Forlini flagged were actually citizens.
In addition, Forlini has repeatedly emphasized transparency as one of his major platform planks. He recently released tens of thousands of ballot images online as part of the county's new "Ballot Verifier" program, and he has promoted making voting data more accessible to the public.
The Stakes for Michigan's Top Election Official
The 2026 secretary of state election is considered one of the most closely watched in Michigan's 2026 midterm cycle. The office oversees critical election administration functions and sets policy for the entire state's election system.
Forlini's victory at the GOP convention sets the stage for a potential general election battle against whoever the Democrats nominate. The race will test whether Michigan Republicans can field an electable candidate who can challenge the long-standing Democratic hold on the office.
Forlini's background as Macomb County clerk — a county that consistently votes for Democratic presidential candidates — gives him a potentially broader appeal. His focus on election security while also emphasizing accessibility and transparency could be key differentiators in a competitive race.
The Democratic convention selection on April 19 will be closely watched to see if they nominate a candidate who can appeal to independents and Republicans who might be concerned about election administration under a Forlini administration.
Michigan's Republican Party is positioning Forlini as a pragmatic choice who understands the intricacies of running elections. His record of implementing election security measures while maintaining the integrity of the process could be key in a state where election administration is often a contentious issue.