Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist won the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State at Sunday’s convention in Windsor, setting the stage for a highly anticipated general election showdown between him and Republican nominee Anthony Forlini.

Gilchrist won the nomination on a platform of ensuring free elections and confronting President Donald Trump, a recurrent theme at the Democratic convention that had a strong showing from progressives.

“If he wants to mess with Michiganders’ right to vote, he’s gonna have to come through me,” Gilchrist tweeted about Trump last month in response to White House-backed measures reigning in mail-in voting.

State Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks nominated Gilchrist for Secretary of State with an assurance that he would protect Michigan’s elections “from political interference”.

“As secretary of state, he will protect the right to vote, defend the will of the people, and ensure Michigan’s elections remain secure, fair, and free from political interference,” she said.

While Democrats walked away from the convention triumphantly, Republicans believe candidates like Gilchrist are vulnerable to attack, and were reportedly celebrating the results.

Republicans have highlighted Gilchrist’s chronic absenteeism from his Constitutional role in the Michigan Senate as just one example of a vulnerability he holds.

Gilchrist was absent from 94% of session days when legislators were called to attendance in 2025, a rarity as previous Lieutenant Governors regularly presided over sessions.

Gilchrist’s Republican opponent Anthony Forlini will also be no pushover, as he has repeatedly shown that he can beat Democrats in closely contested elections.

In 2010, the Republican nominee won his State Representative race with just 50.18% of the vote, flipping a Democrat-held seat.

Most recently, Forlini won his election for Macomb County Clerk by just under 9,000 votes, holding a key Clerk seat for Republicans in a year where Democrats won Michigan in the Presidential election.

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