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Michigan’s top election official expects expedited results
DETROIT — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said tonight that voters can expect election results “relatively sooner than in the past” because of a new state law.
The statute “enables clerks to begin processing absentee ballots that were sent before today to begin processing them earlier than today,” Benson said.
She also noted that nearly 2,000 Michiganders registered to vote today.
Asked by a reporter about voters who complained that the choice between using a Republican or a Democratic ballot was too public at polling locations, Benson said voters “who were concerned about that procedure had the option of voting early from home and doing so in that in the privacy of their own home.”
Listen to Michigan protest movement says: ‘Count us out, Joe.’
The #ListenToMichigan group that campaigned for Michiganders to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s Democratic primary claimed victory and praised today’s results.
The group said on X that it “emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations.”
“President Biden has funded the bombs falling on the family members of people who live right here in Michigan. People who voted for him, who now feel completely betrayed,” the group said. “President Biden, listen to Michigan. Count us out, Joe.”
Biden doesn’t directly acknowledge protest vote in Michigan statement
Biden thanked “every Michigander who made their voice heard today” in a statement tonight after his projected primary win.
He did not directly acknowledge the “uncommitted” protest campaign against him, though he said that “exercising the right to vote and participating in our democracy is what makes America great.”
Biden added that Michigan’s votes in 2020 helped send him to the White House while noting that “there is so much left to do.”
“This fight for our freedoms, for working families, and for Democracy is going to take all of us coming together,” he said in the statement. “I know that we will.”
DNC chair Jaime Harrison released a statement with a similar sentiment, writing that “Michigan reflects the rich diversity of the Democratic coalition and of our country.”
He added that the reflection was a reason the party moved up Michigan’s primary date, “so that the voters in the Great Lakes State could make their voices heard early.”
Activists look to replicate Michigan ‘uncommitted’ movement
Organizers at the Dearborn Uncommitted watch party said tonight that likeminded activists in other states have been reaching out to leaders in Michigan to ask how they can replicate the uncommitted results in their states.
Other states don’t have the large bloc of Arab voters that Michigan does, but Michigan also saw strong uncommitted support from young voters.
Biden to visit Teamsters headquarters as the union weighs its 2024 endorsement
Biden will visit the Teamsters headquarters on March 12 as the influential labor union weighs its presidential endorsement.
Biden will also participate in a roundtable with rank-and-file members and meet with the union’s leadership, the union announced today, before results of the Michigan primary were announced.
“We realize that President Biden’s time is limited and we appreciate that he is making it a priority to meet with Teamsters,” General President Sean O’Brien said in a news release. “Our rank-and-file members and leadership are eager to have this conversation about the future of our country and the commitments that working people need from our next President.”
A Biden campaign spokesperson confirmed the coming meeting to NBC News.
The Teamsters boast 1.3 million members.
Haley campaign tries to frame Michigan primary loss as bad news for Trump
The Haley campaign is characterizing a projected double-digit loss to Trump in Michigan as a bad sign for the former president, pointing to the roughly one-third of Republican primary voters who cast ballots for someone other than Trump.
“Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country,” Haley campaign national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement. “So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”
Trump calls into Michigan watch party
Trump called into the Michigan GOP watch party in Grand Rapids tonight to thank his supporters for his projected win.
The former president said that his victory was “far greater than anticipated” and that Election Day, in November, “cannot come fast enough.”
He added that he would be doing lots of campaigning in the battleground state in the coming months.
‘You impeached Trump!’: Michigan GOP Senate candidate interrupted during watch party
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former Rep. Peter Meijer, a Republican running for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, was interrupted during public remarks at an election night watch party for having voted to impeach Trump.
While he was speaking, a member of the crowd shouted, “You impeached Trump!”
Meijer responded by saying, “I did, because Jan. 6th was bad. And you know what? I think we would’ve had better victories in November of ’22 had we not [gone down] that path.”
When the man tried to interrupt him again, Meijer said they can disagree as long as they are committed to supporting the Republican presidential nominee in November, saying of Democrats, “We cannot let them be the victors in this civil war.”
In 2021, Meijer was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The following year, Meijer was defeated in the primary by Trump-endorsed candidate John Gibbs, who lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten in the general election.
Michigan Republican party chair calls Trump the ‘presumptive nominee’
Michigan Republican Party chair Pete Hoekstra called Trump the “presumptive nominee” at a watch party tonight in Grand Rapids, adding he that relayed that message to Haley, as well.
Hoekstra said he “would prefer that she pull out of the race and we unite,” though he added he respects Haley’s decision to stay in “for a couple of more weeks or whatever.”
In response to a question from NBC News about whether he would support the Republican National Committee’s paying Trump’s legal bills, Hoekstra dodged the question at first but then seemed to indicate that to him it would depend on the type of legal fees.
“Some that may be politically motivated attacks, some that may be more business-related,” he said. “Those are all things that we’ve got to work through.”
Democratic mayor in Michigan criticizes Biden over ‘temporary cease-fire’ remark
Abdullah Hammoud, the Democratic mayor of Dearborn, criticized Biden tonight over his remarks about a potential temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
“The first and most immediate thing you need to do is step to the podium and not call for a temporary cease-fire, to stop using language such as ‘humanitarian pauses,’ which is just disrespectful and dehumanizing, and once and for all come out and say, ‘We demand the end of the killing of innocent men, women and children, and that begins with a permanent and lasting cease-fire,'” Hammoud told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on “All In.”
Hammoud has been a leading voice in the Listen to Michigan campaign to vote “uncommitted” in today’s Democratic primary.
“I believe in holding our elected officials accountable, even if we belong to the same party. And that’s the message that we’re trying to send: We want a president who does not support a genocide,” Hammoud said.
Joe Biden wins Michigan Democratic primary
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Michigan Democratic primary, securing at least 74 delegates.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden win Michigan primaries
Trump and Biden have both secured victories in the Michigan primaries, continuing them on the path to a general election matchup.
Judge rules against Kristina Karamo in messy Michigan GOP leadership dispute
A Michigan court has thwarted Kristina Karamo’s efforts to remain in control of the state Republican Party, issuing a temporary injunction today that bars her from conducting party business.
Kent County Circuit Judge J. Joseph Rossi issued the decision hours before polls closed in the state’s presidential primary and days ahead of a Michigan GOP convention that will determine how delegates for this summer’s Republican National Convention are allocated.
Rossi’s order also could end a long dispute between Karamo, who was ousted as chair in a vote by party insiders last month, and former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who had been selected as her replacement. The sides have been on a collision course that could culminate in a crisis Saturday if Karamo goes forward with plans to host a rival convention.
Pete Hoekstra, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, acknowledged the ruling to reporters at an election night watch party in Grand Rapids.
“It’s now over,” Hoekstra said this evening. He said he hasn’t heard from Karamo, but that he has heard she indicated that she will abide by the court order.
If she doesn’t, Hoekstra said, “We will go back to court and hold her in contempt. She’s got the ruling. It’s very clear.”
Final polls in Michigan closing at 9 p.m. ET
Most polls in the state closed at 8 p.m. ET, but the final polls are set to close at 9 p.m.
The deadline for to return mail ballots was also 8 p.m.
Michigan voters say access to abortion outweighs their personal opposition
WARREN, Mich. — Two voters in Michigan who cast primary ballots today told NBC News that while they’re opposed to abortion, they still think access is necessary.
Dave Schultz, who said he voted for Haley to “stop Donald Trump,” said he is personally against the procedure but believes women should have access.
“I’m a faithful Catholic and against abortion and things like that,” he said. “But I got to think of what’s best for everybody.”
He added, “God gave us free will and free choice, and there are situations that could impact a certain person’s life.”
Charlotte Mack, 63, who said she voted for Biden, said a top issue she thinks about when she votes is “being able to let women make their own decisions about their bodies even though I don’t condone that.”
Mack said she is personally anti-abortion “because, in my opinion, it is a life,” but she added that “under certain circumstances, sometimes it has to be done.”
“It’s still our bodies, and we should be able to make our own decisions as far as when it comes to abortions and so forth and so forth,” she said.
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