With majority on the line, Democrats pump $1.5M into Michigan Supreme Court election TV ads 

The partisan majority of the Michigan State Supreme Court hangs in the balance in November. Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and University of Michigan law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas — who were both nominated by Democrats last weekend — are spending $1.5 million on a TV ad campaign.

This is the largest TV ad buy that Supreme Court candidates have made in Michigan, the Michigan Democratic Party says, and a review of campaign finance records from the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice for the last decade backs that up.

Although state Supreme Court candidates appear on the nonpartisan section of the ballot, state parties endorse candidates. 

Democrats secured a slim 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court in 2020 after Republican-nominated justices controlled the court for most of the last few decades. In fact, GOP-nominated justices secured a 5-2 supermajority in 2013 when Republican Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Republican Judge David Viviano, who is retiring this year.

Now with Viviano retiring, Thomas and Republican state Rep. Andrew Fink are campaigning against each other for an eight-year-term. The other seat is a partial term and will last four years, finishing out the term of former Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, who retired in 2022. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Bolden to the slot and she will face Branch County Circuit Court Judge Patrick William O’Grady, who was nominated by Republicans.

In recent years, the Democratic-majority Supreme Court has made rulings on key issues, including ordering that a ballot initiative to enshrine the right to an abortion into Michigan’s state constitution be placed on the 2022 ballot. A majority of voters then approved the change to the state constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion that summer.

The Michigan Democratic Party told the Michigan Advance that it is also making its single biggest investment in Supreme Court races putting more than $1 million toward digital advertising across multiple streaming platforms, social media platforms, Youtube and Google search ads from September until Election Day. The ads will echo Democrats’ messaging that abortion is still on the ballot, even though Michigan doesn’t have a ballot initiative, unlike several other states, because there are still reproductive rights cases working their way through Michigan courts.

As the country faces down a presidential election that both Republicans and Democrats say is pivotal for the country’s future, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes told the Michigan Advance that it is important to not lose sight of the state Supreme Court races at the bottom of the ballot.

To vote for Supreme Court candidates on Nov. 5, the nonpartisan section of the ballot must be filled out, as a straight-ticket vote does not include the Michigan Supreme Court section.

“Let’s be clear: The MAGA fanatics on the other side would do everything they can to strike down the rights and progress Michigan Dems have been fighting for over the past two years if they make it onto Michigan’s Supreme Court – but we won’t let them,” Barnes said. “This investment demonstrates stark contrast between the strength and unity of our party and candidates and the chaos on the Republican side.”