Primary Election Day 2024: Results in state House races, tax proposals finalized (2025)

10 A.M. - The results are in from Tuesday's election. And there were a few surprises in the election that featured low turnout. Several tax proposals passed in Ingham County, but library proposals in Eaton County did not fare as well. November's Lansing area races for the state House, which Republicans hope to gain control of, are now set. And there's clarity in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, with Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers winning their primaries.

Woolford advances in 50th District, unseats Bezotte

In Michigan's 50th District House race, incumbent Rep. Bob Bezotte was unseated by Republican Jason Woolford, who won with 34% of the vote in a four-way race for the Republican nomination, according to unofficial election results. Bezotte finished second iwth 30% of the vote, followed by Dominic Restuccia with 22% and Kristina Lyke with 14%. Woolford will face Democrat Austin Breuer in November.

BeGole winning 71st state House GOP primary

1:35 A.M. - State representative Brian BeGole, R-Antrim Township, was leading early Wednesday morning for the 71st state House Republican nomination.

While Saginaw County hadn't reported any vote totals, Shiawassee and Genesee counties both showed BeGole in the lead, with 64% of Genesee precincts and 92% of Shiawassee precincts reporting. BeGole led with about 69% of the vote. His opponent Kevin Rathburn, of Corunna, had about 31% of the vote.

Republicans in close race to face Dievendorf in 77th state House district

1:30 A.M. - State representative Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, appeared to be winning a primary for the chance to defend their 77th District seat in November, but a pair of Republicans were in a tight race on the other side of the ballot.

Early Wednesday morning, Clinton and Eaton counties reported 100% of precincts and Ingham County reported 73% of precincts. Dievendorf led with roughly 67% of the vote and Angela Mathews, of Lansing, had about 33%.

The Republican primary was much closer. Julie DeRose, of DeWitt, and Cady Ness-Smith, of Eagle Township were in a race separated by a few hundred votes. As of early Wednesday morning, Ness-Smith led with about 55% of the vote and DeRose had about 45%.

Ingham County elder, health care millages up early

12:25 P.M. - Two Ingham County ballot questions - to support a health service millage and an elder persons millage - appeared to be faring well late Tuesday, passing with 63% and 69% of theunofficial votes, respectively, with about 17% of precincts reported as of 11:15 p.m.

Mike Ellis

Johnsen winning big against Rocha

12:15 A.M. - Gina Johnsen appeared Tuesday evening to fend off a challenge for her 78th state House seat.

The Lake Odessa Republican, with 50% of Barry County precincts reporting, 100% of Eaton County precincts reporting, 92.9% in Ionia County and 80% in Kent County, had about 74% of the vote. Hastings Republican Jon Rocha had about 26% of the vote.

Christine Terpening, a Vermontville Democrat, was uncontested in Tuesday's primary.

Sarah Atwood

Shaver appears likely to face Witwer

11:05 P.M. - Andy Shaver appears poised to win the Republican nomination for the 76th state House seat serving most of Eaton County.

With 66.67% of precincts reporting, Shaver, of Charlotte, held 85% of the votes cast. Republican Peter Jones of Lansing had about 15% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic incumbent Angela Witwer of Delta Township in November's election.

Sarah Atwood

Slotkin, Rogers win Senate primaries

9:25 P.M. - The battle for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat came into clearer focus Tuesday night as U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, won their parties' nominations to succeed U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is stepping down after 24 years in the job.

The Associated Press, which the Free Press relies on for final results, called the races as the final polls in the state closed at 9 p.m., despite only a small amount of the total votes having been counted across Michigan.

Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press

Polls close in most of Michigan

8 P.M. - Michigan’s polls for the August primary election have closed in most of Michigan, with the exception of four western Upper Peninsula counties - Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson, and Menominee - that are in the Central Time Zone.

Clerks reported light turnout Tuesday, although more than 1 million Michigan voters cast ballots absentee or during nine days of early voting that ended Sunday.

Anyone in line at a polling location or a ballot drop box at 8 p.m. must be allowed to vote under Michigan law.

Chris Swope, Lansing’s city clerk, pulled the last four ballots from a drop box outside of the REO School, which is the headquarters for the city’s election offices. He had emptied the box a half hour before polls closed at 8 p.m.

Swope said the day ended with around 13,360 votes, which doesn’t include four to five ballot drop boxes but he said those wouldn’t add substantial numbers.

‘It won’t look like this in November’

7:45 P.M. - Delta Township saw slow turnout Tuesday and most ballots that were cast were absentee, Township Clerk Mary Clark said.

More than 6,000 absentee ballots had been received as of Tuesday afternoon, and another couple hundred from ballot drop boxes. By comparison, as of 5:45 p.m., about 1,000 votes had been cast in person Tuesday.

Clark attributed the slow turnout to the lack of contested races and tax proposals on August’s ballot.

“I do think the primaries are important,” she said. “Voting in August matters, you’re picking your choices for November.”

Kris Holmes came to the Delta Township Fire Department to vote around 6 p.m. She said the August primary was important for one simple reason.

“I want to find somebody who will make a difference,” she said.

Eleanora Harris was heading into the Delta Township Library to cast her ballot Tuesday evening. She was caught off guard when she was leaving her chiropractor's office and saw the “Vote Here” signs.

“I was like ‘Oh, are we supposed to vote today?’” she said. “But I really wanted to vote, so I turned around and came back here. We have the right to vote, so we need to continue to do that for our voices to be heard.”

Precinct 6 Captain Beverly Pillar said that she’d seen slow, steady turnout throughout the day.

“It’s been smooth today,” she said. “It won’t look like this in November.”

Pillar has been working elections for 15 years, and she continues to come back because of how strongly she feels about the process.

“I like talking to and being around people,” she said. “And I think democracy is important. Everybody should be heard.”

Sarah Atwood

Voting light but 'steady' in East Lansing

6:30 P.M. - Bethany Muller came to the Hannah Community Center to vote Tuesday for the first time in Michigan. She had previously voted using ballots mailed from California, where she used to live, but has since moved and switched to East Lansing, where she voted at one of the busier precincts in an overall slow day.

Muller said casting a ballot for Elissa Slotkin helped to motivate her. Slotkin, a U.S. representative from Holly, is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, against Detroit actor Harper Hill in the Democratic Primary.

Precinct captain Josh Ramirez-Roberts said it had been a steady day, with about 130 voters as of 6 p.m., although he noted thousands of residents cast absentee ballots and more than 100 voted in-person during nine days of early voting that was held for the first time in Michigan and ended Sunday.

“And that’s without the students in East Lansing,” Ramirez-Roberts said, acknowledging MSU classes will be in session when the November general election is held.

Carl Metz said he came out to vote because of his girlfriend.

“She’s really political and would want me to do it,” he said.

Metz said it was his second time voting since moving to East Lansing, but the last time was more crowded.

“This was a primary, there weren’t a lot of contested races and it was quick,” he said.

Mike Ellis

Police investigating Crawford County incident

4:55 P.M. - Law enforcement is investigating a possible incident of voter intimidation Tuesday in Crawford County, officials said.

A member of a state elections ground team conducting election check-ins around the state witnessed the incident in Beaver Creek Township in which people who were campaigning partly blocked an entrance to a polling location, said Angela Benander, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State.

"They were approaching voters aggressively with signs as voters drove in," she said.

Campaigning within 100 feet of an entrance to a polling location is a criminal offense and the incident was reported to local law enforcement, she said.

Paul Egan, John Wisely and Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press

Election workers in Charlotte prepare for after-work voting hours

3:11 P.M. - There were no lines to vote just before 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Charlotte City Hall but a few voters were there to cast their ballots.

“I vote every chance I get,” said Scott Kramar, a Democrat, as he was leaving the building. “I haven’t missed one in a while. Overall, I think my party needs to be supported all the way right now.”

Julianna Loomis, 19, said voting is important.

“I want to ensure that our democracy stands,” she said.

Charlotte City Clerk Mary LaRocque said turnout at the District 1 precinct, one of two in the city, was lower than normal. Numbers are expected to go up between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. “During the rain, we didn’t have very many people at all,” she said.

Just under 80 people had visited City Hall to cast their ballots by 2:30 p.m., LaRocque said, and just over 1,000 absentee ballots had been issued.

Benson ‘really encouraged’ by early vote numbers despite dip from August 2020

1:53 P.M. - Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she was pleased that more than a million Michigan voters cast their ballots in today's primary election before the polls opened.

"It's been really great to see people get what they need to vote early," she told reporters during a midday briefing. "We've been really encouraged by the fact that there have been so many people participating ahead of time.

"It's a real reflection of the fact that the more people know about early voting, the more they're able to take advantage of that opportunity."

Today's primary election was the first after the state expanded mandatory early voting to nine days and at least eight hours a day. Early voting ended on Sunday.

On Monday, Benson's office said that about 73,500 voters cast ballots at early vote centers. That was in addition to the roughly 970,000 absentee ballots received by Monday.

Voters in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties requested 93,216 absentee ballots and returned 56,902, according to state data.

While the early vote totals fall short of the August primary in 2020, which was about 1.28 million ballots before Election Day, Benson said the pandemic’s impact makes it a more difficult comparison.

"We've noticed a lot of folks who have chosen to vote early in the past — either absentee in the past or early voting this year — are continuing to do it again," she said.

Voters can still return absentee ballots by 8 p.m., but should deposit them in secure drop boxes in their municipality or deliver them to their local clerk's office to ensure they're received in time.

- Matt Mencarini

How do I turn in my absentee ballot?

1:30 P.M. - Anyone registered to vote can vote absentee now in Michigan thanks to a 2018 Michigan proposal approved by voters, although the deadline to request an absentee ballot for Tuesday’s election has passed.

If you received an absentee ballot and haven’t turned it in, you can place it in a voting drop box in your community or turn it in in person up to 8 p.m. on election day. Local clerks and election officials recommend that any ballot submitted within two weeks of the election be delivered in person.

For future elections, you can request a ballot online athttps://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/AVApplication/Indexup to the Friday before election day or call or visit your local clerk’s office to obtain a ballot. Once you have voted, you can mail in your ballot, place it in a voting drop box in your community or turn it in in person up to 8 p.m. on election day. Local clerks and election officials recommend that any ballot submitted within two weeks of the election be delivered in person.

- State Journal staff

I’m not registered to vote. Do I still have time?

NOON - Yes, in-person today. You can register to vote up to 8 p.m. on Election Day at your city or township clerk’s office. You must show proof of residence with documents that have your name and current address. Acceptable documents include a Michigan driver’s license or state ID, a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check or other government document. Digital copies of documents are acceptable, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

It's too late to register online. If you choose not to vote today, you can register for the November general election at any secretary of state branch office or online. Your voter registration application must be received or postmarked at least 15 days before the election. You can register online athttps://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/RegisterVoter/Index.

- State Journal staff

Don’t spoil your ballot

10 A.M. - The top issue on many clerks' minds is reminding residents that voting in a primary is different than a general election. Voters in primary elections in Michigan cannot “split their ballot,” or vote for candidates from more than one party. On an Ingham County ballot, for example, a voter who selects Elissa Slotkin, a Holly Democrat, for U.S. Senate but votes for Republican Tom Barrett, of Charlotte, for U.S. House would spoil their ballot.

It’s not a new issue in Michigan but is particularly important given the rise in no-reason absentee voting. Voters who split their ballot while voting in person can expect the ballot to be rejected by the electronic tabulating machine into which they feed their ballot, have their error pointed out to them and be able to cast another ballot. However, voters who split a ballot and mail it in or leave it in a drop box may or may not have a chance to recast a correct ballot, depending on whether staff at their local clerk’s office can reach them in time before the election. Any non-partisan votes on the spoiled ballot would be counted, such as local judicial races or ballot issues, but no partisan votes would be recorded.

“August primaries are unique in Michigan because you must ‘Stay In Your Lane,’” Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said.“Both parties’ candidates appear on one ballot, so you will not need to select a ballot style. That means you can choose to vote for either Democratic candidates or Republican candidates, but you cannot cross over and vote for some Democrats and some Republicans. If you do, the partisan section of your ballot will be considered blank and only the non-partisan sections will be counted."

- State Journal staff

US Senate, state House races will be pared today

8:30 A.M. - There are a host of primaries today involving some of the most highly watched races in the Lansing area.

The slate of candidates who want to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, will be cut to two after today. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, is running against Democrat and Detroit actor Hill Harper, while former Congressman Mike Rogers, a Brighton Republican, is competing with former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Cascade Charter Township and west Michigan physician Sherry O'Donnell.

Additionally, four Lansing-area state House primaries are contested.

In the 71st State House district, two Republicans, Brian BeGole and Kevin Rathbun, are vying for the seat. BeGole was elected as the district's state representative in 2022 to represent the district that includes much of Shiawassee County, not including Sciota and Woodhull townships in the Laingsburg area, and southern portions of Saginaw County and southwest Genesee County. The winner will face Democrat Mark Zacharda, an Ovid native.

In the 76th House District, two Republicans are running to unseat Lansing Democrat Angela Witwer. Restaurant owner Peter Jones of Lansing and Charlotte pastor Andy Shaver are hoping to represent the newly drawn House district that includes much of Eaton County, not including Grand Ledge and the northwest and southwest corners of the county. Witwer is unopposed in the primary.

In the 77th House District, first-term Lansing Democrat Emily Dievendorf is facing a challenger in her bid for a second term from Lansing Democrat Angela Mathews, a Lansing Community College board member. On the other side of the ticket, Julie DeRose, a DeWitt Republican, is running against Eagle Republican Cady Ness-Smith to represent the district that includes much of western Clinton County, including DeWitt, DeWitt Township, Eagle and Westphalia, as well as Grand Ledge and north Lansing.

In the 78th State House district, Hastings Republican Jon Rocha is challenging first-term state representative Gina Johnsen to represent Ionia County and portions of Eaton, Barry, and Kent counties. The winner will face Christine Terpening, a Vermontville Democrat, in the November general election.

Polls are open across Michigan

7 A.M. - Welcome to Election Day! Polls opened at 7 a.m. across Michigan for primary election. A host of primary races are on the ballot for federal, state House and local elections. And in the Lansing area, there are about two dozen tax proposals on the ballot across Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.

Not sure where to vote? Here’s how to find your polling location at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index. If you can’t find it there or don’t have internet access, call your local clerk’s office for guidance.

Unclear what’s on your ballot? We have a complete list of Lansing area races and ballot proposals here.

Follow along today as we cover the election. We’ll post updated through the day and evening with election news and visits to polling locations.

- State Journal staff