Democratic backed justices will maintain their majority on Michigan Supreme Court.
Voters elected Kyra Harris Bolden to serve the remaining four years of a partial term left vacant by former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, defeating Republican backed Patrick William O'Grady. Bolden has served as a justice on the State Supreme Court since she was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.
Bolden spoke to a crowd at the Democratic headquarters Tuesday evening in Detroit calling her election a historic moment.
"I stand here before you today not only as the first black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court," she said, "But the first chosen by each and every one of you.”
In the general election, Democratic nominee Kimberly Thomas defeated Republican backed Andrew Fink. Thomas will serve a full 8-year term on the bench. Thomas said she traveled throughout Michigan to find what voters sought from a Supreme Court justice.
“People across the state who care deeply about our courts. And they wanted a court that was fair and that promoted access to justice.”
According to unofficial results from the Secretary of State, both Thomas and Bolden each garnered over 61% of the vote over their Republican-backed challengers.
David Takitaki is the political science program coordinator and professor at Ferris State University. He said results of these elections have far-reaching affects on lives of everyday Michiganders.
"Day to day elements of the lives of Michiganders are shaped by statute law, and statute law is contested by the court so if the courts dispositions switches, we could see massive changes both to existing legislation and potentially future measures for the people," he said.
Democratic backed justices now hold a 5-2 majority on the bench.
Bolden received her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She was a criminal defense attorney and later a civil litigation attorney before serving in the Michigan House of Representatives for two terms wherein she sat on the Judiciary Committee.
Thomas is a professor of law at the University of Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and her law degree from Harvard Law School. She worked as a trial attorney before joining the faculty of the U-M School of Law in 2003. There, she directs the juvenile justice clinic and teaches civil and criminal law.
WDET's Quinn Klinefelter contributed reporting to this story.
