Bipartisan Proposal Would End Party Convention Selection for Key Statewide Offices
Michigan voters in Battle Creek and across the state could soon get a say in who becomes the Republican and Democratic nominees for attorney general and secretary of state. A new bipartisan constitutional amendment introduced this week would move those selections from party conventions to primary elections.
Republican Rep. Greg Markkanen and Democratic Rep. Joe Tate introduced the proposed amendment on Thursday. The measure would require both offices to be filled through primary elections starting in 2027. A companion bill will be introduced by Republican Sen. Ed McBroom when the Senate reconvenes.
"Voters will get to know the candidates and what they stand for during the primary, and parties will be able to nominate candidates who can handle the rigors of a statewide campaign," McBroom said in a statement Friday.
Michigan Is an Outlier on Convention Selections
Michigan is one of only a handful of states where attorney general and secretary of state candidates are chosen by party delegates at conventions rather than by voters in primary elections. That means the people who cast ballots in August primaries have no voice in selecting nominees for two of the state's most powerful offices.
The convention system has drawn criticism from both parties. In 2022, Republican delegates selected Kristina Karamo for secretary of state and Matt DePerno for attorney general. Both candidates held far-right views, including false claims about the 2020 election. Karamo lost to Democrat Jocelyn Benson by 14 percentage points. DePerno lost to Dana Nessel by 9 points.
This year, the Democratic convention faced its own problems. Technical issues with the voting website caused the event to run hours longer than expected. Delegates reported breaking party rules by voting remotely. Others raised concerns that their votes were not counted correctly or at all.
Two Paths to the Same Goal
The legislative effort is not the only push to change the system. Two former party leaders are running a parallel campaign.
Jason Cabel Roe, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, and Lon Johnson, former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, are working to build support for the same constitutional change.
"This is not a divisive issue," Johnson told Votebeat on Thursday. "This is something that both sides, across all spectrums of both parties, [are] looking to have done."
Roe said he first began pushing for the change in 2022. He said Democrats agreed with the idea at the time but lost interest after winning the general elections.
"Then, after kicking our ass in the '22 election, they decided it was a uniquely Republican problem and they were not all that excited to help us save us from ourselves," Roe said.
Johnson said the recent Democratic convention problems renewed interest among establishment Democrats. He said concerns grew that convention-selected candidates, who tended to be farther left, could face electability challenges in November.
The Amendment Faces a Steep Climb
Passing the amendment requires two hurdles. First, two-thirds of both the House and Senate must vote to place it on the ballot. Then, a majority of Michigan voters must approve it.
The amendment could technically appear on the August primary ballot. That would require the legislature to pass it before June 5. That timeline is unlikely.
The more realistic path is a November vote.
Some legislators have already signaled support. Rep. Noah Arbit, a Democrat, backs the idea. Rep. Matt Maddock, a Republican, has expressed opposition.
State House Speaker Matt Hall said on Wednesday he was "focusing on other things."
Roe and Johnson plan to gather additional support at the Mackinac Policy Conference this week. They intend to build a coalition that includes political leaders, business executives, and nonprofit officials.
What Comes Next
If the amendment passes and voters approve it, the first primary elections for attorney general and secretary of state would occur in 2027. The convention system would end for those two offices.
Roe and Johnson said they may eventually push for similar changes for other convention-selected positions, including Michigan Supreme Court seats and university trustee boards. For now, they are focused on the two statewide executive offices.
"We can't boil the ocean here," Johnson said. "We've got to move very deliberately, and we cannot have a ballot that's too long and complicated. Reform doesn't happen overnight. It takes time."
For Battle Creek voters, the question is whether the legislature will act quickly enough to put this choice on the November ballot. If it does, residents in Calhoun County will finally have a direct say in who represents their party in two of Michigan's most consequential elections.