Six Candidates Vie for Two Michigan Supreme Court Seats
Two seats on the seven-member Michigan Supreme Court are being contested in the November 3 election. Democratic-nominated incumbents Megan Cavanagh, the chief justice, and Noah Hood face Republican nominees Casandra Morse-Bills and Michael Warren, along with U.S. Taxpayers Party nominees Thomas Howe and Jody White. The seats carry full eight-year terms.
Though the court elections are formally nonpartisan, state party conventions select nominees. The court currently has a 6-1 majority of Democratic-nominated justices. A win by both Republican candidates would not give Republicans a majority; they could not have another opportunity to gain one before at least 2028. Michigan’s licensing rules bar Howe and White from serving on the court because neither holds a law license.
The court has ruled on issues including criminal sentencing, the state’s sex offender registry and arrests in courtrooms. A decision against retroactive application of the registry law has led to more than 20,000 people being removed from it. A court rule adopted this year also limits law enforcement’s ability to make civil arrests, including immigration arrests, in state and local courtrooms.
The campaign has drawn substantial spending. Cavanagh and Hood spent more than $840,000 on television advertising, while two supporting groups contributed about $2.19 million and $400,000, respectively: Justice for All Michigan and the ACLU Voter Education Fund. The court has final authority on matters including the constitutionality of state laws and whether ballot measures can go before voters.
Michigan’s Supreme Court Majority Faces a High-Spending Election
The November 3 election will decide whether Democratic-nominated incumbents Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood keep their places on Michigan’s Supreme Court. They face two Republican nominees and two candidates from the U.S. Taxpayers Party, whose nominees lack the law licenses required to serve on the court.
The stakes reach beyond two seats. The seven-member court has a 6-1 Democratic-nominated majority and decides questions such as whether state laws are constitutional. Recent rulings have limited mandatory life-without-parole sentences, struck down retroactive use of the sex offender registry law—prompting the removal of more than 20,000 people—and allowed a state investigation into insulin pricing to proceed under the Consumer Protection Act.
Earlier this year, the court put limits on civil arrests in state and local courtrooms, including immigration arrests. Those decisions show why the court’s direction matters to people whose rights and protections are shaped by state law.
The incumbents and their allies have invested heavily in the contest: Cavanagh and Hood spent more than $840,000 on television ads, while the Justice for All Michigan group put in about $2.19 million and the ACLU Voter Education Fund roughly $400,000. A Republican win in both races would still leave the party short of a court majority, with no chance to gain one before at least 2028.
Republicans Challenge Michigan Court’s Democratic-Nominated Majority
Michigan voters face a consequential choice on November 3: whether to keep two Democratic-nominated incumbents on a Supreme Court that now has a 6-1 majority of Democratic-nominated justices, or elect Republican judges Casandra Morse-Bills and Michael Warren as an ideological counterweight.
The court decides whether state laws are constitutional and whether ballot measures can reach voters. Its recent rulings include limiting mandatory life-without-parole sentences and finding the sex offender registry law unconstitutional when applied retroactively, a decision that prompted the removal of over 20,000 individuals from the registry. Separately, the justices set restrictions on civil arrests in state and local courtrooms, including immigration arrests.
Republicans nominated two experienced circuit court judges, but the incumbents and allied groups have spent heavily. Cavanagh and Hood spent more than $840,000 on television advertising; Justice for All Michigan put in about $2.19 million, and the ACLU Voter Education Fund about $400,000. The spending underscores the fight over the court’s direction, even though electing both Republicans would not give the party a majority.
The other two candidates, nominated by the U.S. Taxpayers Party, lack the Michigan law licenses needed to serve. Both seats carry eight-year terms, and Republicans would have no opportunity to gain a court majority before at least 2028.
Reported by CBS Detroit, Bridge Michigan.
