Michigan voters elected Democrat Jocelyn Benson governor and sent Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The Associated Press called the governor’s race at 1:45 a.m. and the Senate race at 2:27 a.m. on Wednesday: Benson about ten points ahead of Republican John James, El-Sayed about six ahead of Republican Mike Rogers. Nationally, Democrats took both the House and the Senate from the Republicans. Both winners spoke at the Democratic watch party at Hudson’s Detroit; Republicans gathered at the Westin Book Cadillac a few blocks away. Benson and her running mate Winnie Brinks take office on January 1, 2027. The official result comes after the county and state canvasses later this month.346
Shares from the count at 5:09 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4, with about 94% of the expected vote in (NBC News). Calls by the Associated Press, times in Detroit time.
Four statewide offices, four Democratic wins, all called by the Associated Press between 1:45 and 2:28 a.m. Wednesday. The bars show the count at 5:09 a.m.; the small share missing from 100% went to the Libertarian, Green and other candidates.
Governor
AP call, 1:45 a.m.
D
Jocelyn BensonSecretary of state since 2019 · running mate: Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks
54.3%
R
John JamesU.S. representative, 10th District, since 2023
44.0%
Michigan’s 50th governor. Benson and Brinks are the first all-female governor and lieutenant governor ticket in the state’s history, and Benson is the first candidate to succeed a governor of her own party since term limits began in 1992. James would have been Michigan’s first Black governor; this was his third statewide loss after two Senate runs. The general-election ad war cost about $41 million on broadcast alone.321
“This is a victory for every one of us, every Michigander. Now, the work begins.”
U.S. Senate
AP call, 2:27 a.m.
D
Abdul El-SayedPhysician, 41, Detroit’s health director 2015–2017, later Wayne County’s
52.3%
R
Mike RogersFormer U.S. representative; lost the 2024 Senate race to Elissa Slotkin by a hair
45.7%
The seat Gary Peters is leaving. El-Sayed is the first Muslim ever elected to the U.S. Senate and has never held elected office before. The race was the most expensive in Michigan’s history: more than $270 million in disclosed spending by October, against $217 million in Rogers’ 2024 race. He declared victory about an hour before the AP call. Rogers sent his supporters home from the Book Cadillac around 1 a.m. and had not conceded by early Wednesday.421
“Michigan, we did it.”
Secretary of State
AP call, 2:00 a.m.
D
Garlin Gilchrist IILieutenant governor since 2019
53.5%
R
Anthony ForliniMacomb County clerk
43.8%
The office that runs Michigan’s elections, driver’s licenses and plates. Gilchrist takes over from Benson herself.21
Attorney General
AP call, 2:28 a.m.
D
Eli SavitWashtenaw County prosecutor
52.3%
R
Doug LloydEaton County prosecutor
45.0%
Dana Nessel was term-limited. At the Republican party at the Book Cadillac, Lloyd compared the 15-month campaign to a trial and said “the night is still young”; the AP called it against him at 2:28 a.m.21
Michigan Supreme Court: justices Megan Cavanagh and Noah Hood, both incumbents, were re-elected.1
Lansing: Crain’s Grand Rapids reported early Wednesday that Democrats won both chambers of the Legislature, flipping the state House (Republicans held it 58–52) and widening their 20–18 Senate majority. Benson predicted both majorities in her speech while some districts were still open. We will update the seat counts when the AP has them.83
02
Washington: both houses change hands
CBS News projected the Democratic House majority at 10:15 p.m. and the Senate at 11:35 p.m. Eastern. Going in, Republicans held the House 218–212 and Democrats needed four Senate seats; they flipped seven. Alaska and Mississippi were still open at 4:22 a.m., so the final seat totals are not in yet.6
U.S. House
Democratic majority · CBS, 10:15 p.m.
Was 218–212 Republican. CBS named seven Democratic pickups, Iowa’s three districts and Texas’ 15th among them; about 75 races were still open at dawn.
U.S. Senate
Democratic majority · CBS and CNN, 11:35 p.m.
Seven seats flipped. Alaska and Mississippi still open at 4:22 a.m.
Seven Senate seats, Republican to Democrat
TexasJames Talarico over Ken Paxton
OhioSherrod Brown over Jon Husted
North CarolinaRoy Cooper over Michael Whatley
MaineTroy Jackson over Susan Collins
IowaJosh Turek over Ashley Hinson
KansasAdam Hamilton over Roger Marshall
South CarolinaAnnie Andrews over Darline Graham
Governors, as called by CBS
TexasGina Hinojosa (D)beat Gov. Greg Abbott; the first Democrat since Ann Richards
OhioAmy Acton (D)over Vivek Ramaswamy
GeorgiaKeisha Lance Bottoms (D)called 9:28 p.m.
IowaRob Sand (D)called 11:20 p.m.
FloridaByron Donalds (R)the Republicans’ hold of the night
President Trump told CBS News he would accept the results and congratulated the Democrats, while signalling heavy use of the veto; on Truth Social he wrote that he “wasn’t on the ballot”. Exit polls put his approval at 38%, and AAA’s Election Day gas price of $4.15 a gallon was the highest in its records.6
03
Michigan’s 13 seats in the U.S. House
Republicans held seven of the thirteen going in. If the two Democratic leads in the 7th and 10th hold, the delegation flips to 8–5 Democratic; the 4th is a one-point race. Shares from the 5:09 a.m. count where a source printed them.1257
2RJohn Moolenaar
vs Ben Ambrose (D) · 61.5–37.0called
Midland, the center of the state
3DHillary Scholten
vs Terri DeBoer (R) · 57.1–41.4called
Grand Rapids
4RBill Huizenga
vs Sean McCann (D) · 49.7–48.9too close
Kalamazoo, Holland · 87% counted
5RTim Walbergcalled
Southern border counties · tenth term
6DDebbie Dingell
vs Heather Smiley (R)called
Ann Arbor, Downriver · seventh term
7DWilliam Lawrence
vs Tom Barrett (R, incumbent) · 51–48leads, not called
Lansing · Lawrence declared victory, 75% counted
8DKristen McDonald Rivetcalled
Flint, Saginaw, Bay City
9RLisa McClain
vs Ray Pooley (D)called
The Thumb, northern Macomb
10DChristina Hines
vs Michael Bouchard (R)leads, not called
Macomb County, John James’ old seat · Hines declared victory at 3:52 a.m., about 5.5 points up; Bouchard congratulated her
11DJeremy Moss
vs Ethan Baker (R)called
Oakland County, Haley Stevens’ old seat
12DRashida Tlaib
vs James Hooper (R) · 76–21called
Dearborn, Detroit’s west side, Livonia · fifth term
13DDonavan McKinneycalled
Most of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes, part of Downriver · new; Shri Thanedar lost the August primary
DemocratRepublicanleads, not calledtoo close
04
The two statewide questions
Proposal 1 · failed
Constitutional convention
Michigan asks every 16 years whether to call a convention to rewrite the state constitution. About three in four voters said no, as they have every time since the 1963 constitution; the question was settled by 9:57 p.m.15
Proposal 2 · passed
No political money from utilities and big contractors
Passed with about four in five votes. It bars political contributions by the state’s regulated utilities, DTE and Consumers Energy among them, and by state contractors doing more than $250,000 a year in government work.15
05
The night in Detroit
Both parties watched the count downtown, a few blocks apart: Democrats at Hudson’s Detroit on Woodward, Republicans at the Westin Book Cadillac on Washington Boulevard. The ballots themselves were counted at Huntington Place on the riverfront, where Catholic groups held a prayer vigil for a peaceful count and federal monitors watched without incident.154
~45%expected turnout in the city, 40 to 45%: “a record for a midterm,” said Clerk Janice Winfrey. The 2024 presidential election drew 47%.
~135,000Detroiters voted in person, early or on the day
~68,000absentee ballots were already tabulated before Election Day, with 10,000 to 12,000 more expected on the day
< 2,500ballots in the last batch, which reached Huntington Place at 1:22 a.m.
Campus Martius, between the two watch parties: Hudson’s Detroit is a block north on Woodward, the Book Cadillac two blocks west.Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Huntington Place, where Detroit’s ballots were counted; the last batch arrived at 1:22 a.m.Gregory Varnum · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hour by hour, Detroit time
Polls close across most of Michigan; four Upper Peninsula counties on Central time close at 9.
Catholic groups gather outside Huntington Place to pray for a peaceful count, the hall where pro-Trump protesters tried to disrupt counting in 2020.
At Hudson’s, Pete Buttigieg tells the Democratic crowd: “I’d rather be us right now.”
Proposal 1, the constitutional convention, fails; Proposal 2 passes ten minutes later.
CBS News projects a Democratic majority in the U.S. House. At the Book Cadillac the mood stays upbeat; the TVs are on Fox News.
CBS News and CNN call the U.S. Senate for the Democrats.
John James at the Book Cadillac: “We don’t know what tonight’s going to bring … we are optimistic.”
Mike Rogers sends his supporters home. His wife Kristi tells them Michigan is a “firewall” for Senate control and that “it’s going to take a while.”
The last batch of Detroit absentee ballots, fewer than 2,500, arrives at Huntington Place.
Benson takes the stage at Hudson’s and declares victory; El-Sayed follows: “Michigan, we did it.”
The AP calls the governor’s race for Benson, with about a fifth of the vote still to count.
The AP calls secretary of state for Gilchrist.
The AP calls the Senate race for El-Sayed, nearly six points up with 85% counted; attorney general for Savit a minute later.
Christina Hines declares victory in the 10th District, about 5.5 points up; Michael Bouchard congratulates her. No AP call yet.
06
What happens next
This week
County boards of canvassers check the precinct totals; the Board of State Canvassers certifies the statewide result later in November. Until then every number here is an unofficial count.
Still open
The 4th, 7th and 10th Districts in Michigan, the Senate seats in Alaska and Mississippi, and the final seat counts in Lansing and in both houses of Congress.
January 1, 2027
Jocelyn Benson and Winnie Brinks are sworn in in Lansing; Gretchen Whitmer’s eight years end. Garlin Gilchrist becomes secretary of state, Eli Savit attorney general.
January 3, 2027
The new Congress meets. Michigan’s senators are Elissa Slotkin and Abdul El-Sayed; Detroit is represented by Rashida Tlaib and Donavan McKinney.
For a visit to Detroit this month nothing changes on the street: the QLINE and the People Mover run as before, the museums keep their hours, and the restaurants are open. The new governor’s first day is January 1. What’s on this week →
Questions
Who is Michigan’s next governor, and from when?
Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat and the current secretary of state, from January 1, 2027. Her lieutenant governor is Winnie Brinks. She succeeds Gretchen Whitmer, who was term-limited after eight years.
Who are Michigan’s two U.S. senators now?
Elissa Slotkin, elected in 2024, and Abdul El-Sayed, elected on November 3, 2026, who takes Gary Peters’ seat when the new Congress meets on January 3, 2027.
Who represents Detroit in Congress?
Rashida Tlaib in the 12th District (Dearborn and Detroit’s west side) and Donavan McKinney, newly elected, in the 13th (most of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and part of Downriver).
Is the result final?
No. The statewide winners are Associated Press calls on an unofficial count; the Board of State Canvassers certifies the result later in November. Three Michigan House districts and two U.S. Senate races elsewhere were still open on Wednesday morning.
Sources
Independent, in our own words, with no side taken. Every number is from the sources’ early-Wednesday count; we update after certification.
quarterdetroit.comMichigan voted blue: Benson is the next governor, El-Sayed goes to the Senate, Democrats take CongressHere’s what your friends will see
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