MI-SOS: Controversies embroil Democratic race for secretary of state

Mason — Two Democratic candidates for secretary of state are vowing to stay in the convention race for the party's nomination, despite an effort by some influential groups to consolidate support behind Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II.

The situation points to a potentially contested — and heated — floor fight taking place at the Michigan Democratic Party's April 19 convention in Detroit. The Detroit News interviewed more than a dozen Democrats about the contest, finding that many see Gilchrist as the frontrunner but also detect the possibility of an upset.

Barb Byrum, Ingham County's clerk and a longtime figure in Democratic politics, guaranteed she would take her bid to be Michigan's next secretary of state to a vote at the convention.

"I'm taking this to the floor," Byrum told The News.



https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/19/michigan-democratic-party-race-secretary-of-state-barb-byrum-garlin-gilchrist-suzanna-shkreli/89101999007/