The die was set Tuesday for November matchups in several closely watched state legislative races as primary results trickled in late into the night and early Wednesday morning across the state.
Among the races decided so far, a Downriver candidate made it through the 2nd House District primary and is poised to become the first transgender lawmakers; a young Republican skated through an Oakland County primary with a 61-vote margin; and a West Michigan state Senate candidate endorsed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer fell far short of winning the primary.
The winners of the Aug. 4 primaries advance to a general election race where every seat in the state House and Senate is up for grabs. Both parties are striving to achieve a majority in the House, which currently has a 58-52 GOP majority, and the Senate, which has a 20-18 Democratic majority.
The state of Michigan could elect its first openly transgender lawmaker to the state House after Joanna Whaley beat out former state lawmaker Frank Liberati in Tuesday's Downriver Democratic primary.
Whaley of Allen Park took nearly 66% of the vote in the 2nd House District primary while Liberati took 34% and Democrat Gary Schlack took 9%, according to unofficial results out of Wayne County.
Whaley, a hospital chaplain, will run against Republican Ron Kokinda to replace Liberati's brother, Tullio Liberati, in the state House.
In a brief Facebook message Wednesday, Whaley thanked voters from the district, which includes Lincoln Park, Allen Park, Melvindale and Southgate.
"To all the volunteers and supporters let's take this energy into the general election and bring focused leadership to our community," Whaley wrote.
Frank Liberati generated controversy earlier this year when he attempted to have his opponent disqualified from the ballot by challenging the statement of identity on Whaley's candidate affidavit. The Wayne County Clerk's Office overruled Frank Liberati's challenge, finding Whaley's name change was legal and timely. Liberati has been criticized by Democrats because of the challenge.
State Rep. Tullio Liberati won his 2024 general election race for the 2nd House District with about 52% of the vote. Kokinda, who ran that year as well, took 42% of the vote, and a Working Class Party candidate won nearly 6% of the vote.
Incumbent Democratic state Rep. Helena Scott of Detroit appears to have lost her primary run against Democratic Socialist Chris Gilmer-Hill in the Detroit-based 8th House District.
Complete results out of Oakland County and partial results out of Wayne County indicate, as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Gilmer-Hill had a roughly 7-point lead on Scott, taking about 49% of the vote to Scott's 42%.
Scott, the former chairwoman for the House Energy Committee, appears to be the only incumbent state lawmaker to have lost re-election.
Gilmer-Hill, who's been the policy manager for the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, has been endorsed by Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America.
In a statement late Tuesday, Gilmer-Hill said his win should come as no surprise to people who understand how "sick and tired" residents are with Democratic leadership that "falls in line with corporations like DTE instead of the people.
"My race proves that the message of socialism wins against incumbents and entrenched interests, and this primary is just the first of many instances of that to come," Gilmer-Hill said.
Scott beat Gilmer Hill, when he was her only opponent in the 2024 primary, by almost 44 percentage points. On Tuesday, there were four Democrats competing for the nomination. She won her general election in 2024 by 78 percentage points.
Recent college graduate Roman Gaskey of Orion Township pulled off a narrow win over former Oxford Township Trustee Jeffrey Omtvedt, a small business owner out of Bloomfield Hills, in a primary race to fill the replace GOP state Rep. Donni Steele, who is running for state Senate.
Gaskey pulled off a win with margin of less than a percentage point, pulling in 50.2% of the vote to Omtvedt's 49.6%, according to unofficial results out of Oakland County. They were separated by about 61 votes.
The winner of the primary will face Democrat Sarah Pounds, a paralegal from Lake Orion, in the November general election.
The primary race occurred in a district that Democrats have long eyed as a potential flip that could help their chances at securing a majority.
Steele won with a margin of about 5 percentage points in 2024, but the district generally is considered 50/50 Republican-Democrat.
State Rep. Phil Skaggs, an East Lansing Democrat seeking a seat in the state Senate, lost his primary Tuesday despite an earning a rare endorsement from Whitmer.
Skaggs lost by nearly 15 percentage points to East Grand Rapids Commissioner Abbie Groff-Blaszak in the 29th Senate District, according to unofficial Kent County results. Groff-Blaszak, a former teacher, took 47% of the vote, Skaggs 32.5% and Ivan Diaz 19.4%.
The 29th Senate District currently is represented by Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, who is term-limited.
Skaggs became one of a few state House and Senate candidates to earn Whitmer's endorsement in late July.
"Phil fights like hell for our values and builds bridges to deliver real results for people," Whitmer said at the time of her endorsement. "I'm proud to endorse Phil Skaggs for State Senate because he'll fight every day for our students, our fundamental rights, and an economy that works for everyone."
Brinks won her 2022 election by nearly 21 percentage points against Republican challenger Tommy Brann.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Legislative roundup: Michigan could elect its first openly transgender state rep