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FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Republicans nominated Circuit Court Judge Patrick O’Grady for one of two open Supreme Court seats Saturday after a prominent attorney, who faces felony charges of trying to illegally access and tamper with voting machines after the 2020 election, dropped out of the race.
Supreme Court races in Michigan are officially nonpartisan, meaning candidates appear without a party label on the ballot, but the nominees are chosen by party convention.
Democratic-backed justices currently hold a 4-3 majority. Republican victories in both races would flip control of the court, while two Democratic wins would yield a 5-2 supermajority.
Republicans have framed the races as a fight to stop government overreach, while Democrats say it is a battle to preserve reproductive rights. Michiganders enshrined the right to abortion in the state in 2022.
O’Grady was the choice of Republicans meeting at their convention in Flint after Matthew DePerno announced Friday night he was dropping out of the race. DePerno said he could best help former President Donald Trump win Michigan in his bid to win the White House by ensuring that Michigan programs for absentee and early voting were strong.
“This is about which candidates give Republicans the strongest chance of carrying Michigan for President Trump,” DePerno said in a statement. “This is also about who can best work outside the ticket to get our candidates elected. I can use my knowledge about how elections work to get Republicans elected.”
DePerno rose to prominence after repeatedly questioning the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. He was named as a “prime instigator” in the voting machine tampering case and faces charges of undue possession of a voting machine and conspiracy.
DePerno has denied wrongdoing and calls the prosecution politically motivated.
The race got a further jolt during Saturday’s nominating convention when the former party chairperson was escorted out of the arena.
Kristina Karamo, who was ousted as chairperson in January after less than a year, was told she was not a delegate and two police officers led her out, the Detroit News reported.
Karamo told reporters she had come to gather votes for Detroit attorney Alexandria Taylor, who was vying for the nomination against O'Grady. Taylor said she had given tickets to Karamo.
Tyson Shepard, the party’s executive director, said Karamo had been offered a guest credential, but when she refused it, she rejected a request to leave, and police were called.
The party ejected Karamo after months of bickering over finances and strategy. A judge ruled in February that she had been removed properly and recognized former congressman Pete Hoekstra as the legitimate chairperson.
O’Grady will face off in the general election against Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was appointed to the court by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after another justice stepped down in 2022.
Bolden is unopposed as she seeks the Democratic nomination to run for a full term. She was the first Black woman to be appointed to the court and would be the first elected if she prevails in November.
Republican delegates also chose state Rep. Andrew Fink as their nominee for the second seat, which is being vacated by GOP-backed Justice David Viviano.
Fink was competing against Court of Appeals Judge Mark Boonstra for the Republican nomination. In November, Fink will face University of Michigan Law School professor Kimberly Ann Thomas, who was also unopposed at the Democratic convention.
The Democrats’ convention was not without controversy. Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American attorney and activist, did not get the party’s nomination to run for the Board of Regents that governs the University of Michigan. Her supporters booed and chanted, “Show the math,” the Detroit News reported.
The tension in Michigan came just days after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago had denied requests to include a Palestinian American speaker. The denial came after the DNC featured the parents of an Israeli American hostage held by Hamas, igniting fresh criticism from some on the left.
The conventions in Michigan kicked off what will almost certainly be competitive and expensive general election races. The candidates seeking Democratic backing have raised far more money than their counterparts on the other side, according to campaign finance reports.