2 Republicans Retain Mich. Supreme Court Seats

The conservative Michigan Supreme Court’s balance remains 5-2 in favor of Republican nominees, and insurers, after voters re-elected two incumbents.

As expected, Democratic nominee Marilyn Kelly and Republican nominee Stephen Markman retained their seats on election day.
With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Kelly had 2,072,793 votes, or 35 percent. Markman had 1,630,120 votes, or 27 percent.

Kelly and Markman faced challenges from GOP nominee and state Court of Appeals Judge Brian Zahra, Democratic nominee Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas and Libertarian nominee Leonard Schwartz.

Thomas had 1,226,936, or 21 percent, Zahra 577,740, or 10 percent, and Schwartz 433,866, or 7 percent.

Kelly and Markman will serve eight-year terms on the court.
The Supreme Court’s makeup has been 5-2 in favor of Republican nominees for nearly six years. The Supreme Court ballot is nonpartisan, but political parties select the candidates.

The candidates stressed core judicial beliefs during the campaign, a relatively calm race compared with the nasty 2000 election.
Markman said the first obligation of government is to protect citizens from criminals. He and Zahra also stressed they would strictly interpret the law and not expand it beyond what the Legislature intended.

Kelly, a frequent dissenter from the court’s decisions, criticized recent rulings on sexual harassment, environmental lawsuits and criminal cases. Thomas said she would not overturn large monetary verdicts because jurors should be able to send a message when they see outrageous conduct.

Schwartz, a retired law professor, said he would focus on making the court more efficient.

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Topics Michigan Politics