As expected, there was a light turnout (less than 32%) by Livingston County voters Tuesday as they decided several contested primary races and millage requests.
The biggest race on the ballot was for the GOP nomination to the 22nd State Senate district in which incumbent Sen. Lana Theis appears to have easily beaten back a challenge by ultra-right wing candidate Mike Detmer, winning with more than 59% of the vote. Numbers from the Michigan Secretary of State show Theis with 19,954 votes to 13,611 for Detmer, with some precincts in outlying counties still unreported, although they wouldn’t be enough to affect the outcome.
Theis will now face Brighton District Library Board Vice President Jordan Genso in November, who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary.
Another contested primary race was in the newly-drawn 48th State House district, where Jason Woolford of Howell beat out Hamburg Township Treasurer Jason Negri for the GOP nomination 53-47%.
Woolford will face Ann Arbor Democrat Jennifer Conlin, who also ran uncontested in her primary.
In Livingston County, the 48th District includes Hamburg and Genoa townships and a portion of Putnam Township. It also includes the northern tier of Washtenaw County dipping down into Ann Arbor and a northeast section of Jackson County.
At the County Commission level, six of the nine GOP contests were contested, with some surprises in the results.
The race for 5th District garnered the most attention, with incumbent Commissioner Jay Drick being challenged by former Howell Mayor Nick Proctor. However, Drick handily won his renomination, beating Proctor 57-43%.
Other contested commission races include the 2nd District where incumbent Carol Sue Reader lost her seat on the board to a challenge from former Commissioner Dave Domas, who won 58-42%.
There was a surprise result in the 3rd District race in which Livingston Republican Party Chair Meghan Reckling was competing against Iosco Township Clerk Dan Delmerico and Frank Sample. Reckling, who out-fundraised her opponents, was expected to win that race, but narrowly lost to Sample. The final unofficial results had Sample with 1,701 votes to Reckling’s 1,672, a mere 29 vote difference. Delmerico polled just 435 votes.
In the 6th District, Livingston County Republican Party Treasurer Dan Schifko was trounced by Roger Deaton for the nomination; 68-32%, while in the 8th District, former Brighton School Board member Nick Fiani was the clear winner with more than 49% of the vote, while Jim Mortenson polled just over 30% and Tabitha Dolan got 20%.
And in the 9th District, current Commissioners Brenda Plank and Jay Gross faced off, with Gross winning 68-32%.
There were also various road millages on the ballot in Cohoctah, Handy, Howell and Oceola townships, all of which were passed by voters, as was an operating millage renewal for Fowlerville Community Schools, as did library millages in Hamburg and Hartland and millage proposals for the Howell Area Fire Authority and Putnam Township as well as a bond proposal for the construction of a new fire headquarters building and purchase of a new aerial ladder truck in Green Oak Township.
All of the results, which are unofficial until verified by the Livingston County Board of Canvassers, can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.
