LANSING, Michigan — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has announced a multimillion-dollar investment in two races for the State Supreme Courtwhich underscores the importance of competition in the battleground state, where control of the court is at stake.
The liberal ACLU Michigan announced Thursday that it is investing about $2 million in the races with seven weeks of statewide radio ads leading up to the November election. Political Director Merissa Kovach said the coverage will focus largely on the candidates’ records on reproductive rights.
While Michigan voters voted to pass the right to abortion in the state constitution in 2022 — which firmly enshrined abortion rights — Democrats and allies have continued to frame the state Supreme Court race through the lens of reproductive rights, saying the court could rule on the issue in the future.
Michigan Supreme Court elections are technically nonpartisan, meaning that candidates appear on the ballot without a party affiliation and straight-ticket votes do not count toward the race. However, candidates are nominated at state party conventions.
The ACLU supports abortion access, and its legal effort challenges restrictions and bans across the country. While Kovach said the ACLU is not endorsing candidates in the Michigan races, the ad will certainly benefit Democratic-backed Judge Kyra Harris Holden and law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas.
Bolden and Thomas are running against Republican nominee Judge Patrick O’Grady and State Rep. Andrew Fink, respectively.
The current court is controlled by Democratic-backed justices with a 4-3 majority. The ACLU’s ad campaign will also highlight decisions the court has made in recent years that the left-wing organization has applauded, as well as the four candidates’ track records on other issues, such as LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights.
“We will use our position here as a leading civil rights organization to inform voters about the impact of the Michigan Supreme Court,” Kovach said.
Kovach said the ACLU Voter Education Fund’s earmark is the first it has invested in the Michigan Supreme Court race. The political action committee is also putting about $300,000 into the state’s House of Representatives races.
Michigan Democrats say reproductive rights are still a key voter motivator in the swing state and that the state Supreme Court could interpret the 2022 constitutional amendment in future cases. A lower court judge blocked Michigan’s 24-hour waiting period for abortions earlier this summer.
Michigan Republicans, on the other hand, have framed the state Supreme Court election as a race against government interference by the Democratic trifecta, saying the issue of abortion is legally settled by the constitutional amendment. Along with the state Supreme Court, Michigan Democrats also control the House and Senate and have elected a Democratic governor.
The 2022 abortion vote saw Democrats in Michigan turn the state blue.
The Democratic Party in Michigan also invests heavily in Supreme Court elections. The Michigan Advance It was first reported that the party is spending more than $1 million on digital advertising and that Bolden and Thomas are spending $1.5 million on a TV advertising campaign.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Bolden and Thomas have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more than their counterparts, thanks in large part to contributions from political action committees with ties to labor unions and Democratic heavyweights like Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
Scott Greenlee, a former vice chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and an adviser on the races, said that because the Democratic nominees had no challengers at the state convention, they have an advantage in fundraising and spending. The Republican nominees faced challengers at their party convention in August.
“We are catching up,” Greenlee said.
State Supreme Court elections have begun new meaning in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which moved abortion policy to the states. Millions of dollars were spent on hotly contested races in Wisconsin And Pennsylvania the following year. Supreme Court races in Ohio And Montana Discussions are also expected to become heated over possible statements on abortion.