Meet the anti-abortion groups and conspiracy theorists backing Patrick William O’Grady for Michigan Supreme Court 

Circuit Court Judge Patrick William O’Grady is running for a seat on Michigan’s most powerful court—and some of his biggest supporters may help shed light on his personal values.

MICHIGAN—With two seats on the state Supreme Court up for grabs in this year’s election, Michiganders will have a chance to decide the makeup of the most powerful court in the state—as well as who has the final say on some of Michigan’s most important legal issues. 

But because the seven judges who serve on the Michigan Supreme Court are technically nonpartisan, and often guarded about their political views, it’s not always easy for voters to identify which judicial candidates align most closely with their personal beliefs and values.

Campaign endorsements, however, can offer key clues—and may offer some insight into how candidates could interpret the state Constitution and state laws if they’re elected to the bench.

And Patrick William O’Grady, the Republican-backed candidate who is running against incumbent, Democratic-backed Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, has a few key supporters worth mentioning as voters try to suss out which candidate deserves their vote.

Who is Patrick William O’Grady?

O’Grady is a longtime 15th Circuit Court judge from Branch County, a US Army Reserve veteran, a former Michigan State Police trooper, and a former assistant Branch County prosecutor who claims to have presided over 14,000 cases during his time on the bench. 

His campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court is backed by a nomination from the Michigan Republican Party—which is generally opposed to reproductive rights, gun safety reforms, and minimum wage increases. Many Michigan Republicans have also denied valid election results.

Who else is backing O’Grady?

Ex-President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bragged about appointing the US Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe v. Wade and tried to overturn Michigan’s 2020 election results, has endorsed O’Grady for the Michigan Supreme Court. 

Right to Life of Michigan, a staunch, anti-abortion organization, is also backing O’Grady.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a lobbyist group with ties to right-wing political movements and anti-worker policies, has also endorsed O’Grady this year—in part because he’s voiced opposition to a recent legal decision to raise the state’s minimum wage.

The NFIB reportedly presents itself as the nonpartisan “voice of small business,” but has a track record of taking millions of dollars from right-wing groups and then advocating for state-level bills to erode child labor protections and opposing increases to state minimum wages.

O’Grady is also endorsed by political action committees that represent the Michigan Chamber, which tends to lobby in support of issues that favor business interests over those of workers.

That includes support for legislation that made Michigan a “right-to-work” state in 2013, as well as bills that aimed to repeal the state’s prevailing-wage laws in 2015, and more recently, opposition to measures to raise the state’s minimum wage and mandate paid leave for workers. 

AgricPac, which almost exclusively backs Republican candidates, has also endorsed O’Grady, as has the Detroit News—which also endorsed election-denying Republican Tudor Dixon in her unsuccessful effort to defeat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

Two video endorsements also appear at the top of O’Grady’s webpage. One is from Dr. Sherry O’Donnell, a COVID-19 conspiracy theorist who’s known to prescribe prayer as a form of spiritual treatment to her patients. The other is from former Republican US House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who has been credited with breaking American politics.

O’Grady’s campaign website also features an endorsement from Dr. Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College—a private Michigan college that has reportedly become involved in many political issues in recent years, including Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020.

O’Grady is also endorsed by former rockstar Ted Nugent, who supported the overturn of Roe and has a long history of making racist, homophobic, and misogynistic remarks in the media. 

Citizens for Traditional Values as well as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) have also endorsed O’Grady. Both groups have a reputation of opposing reproductive rights, protections for the LGBTQ community, and pro-union policies that benefit Michigan workers.

READ MORE: Lobbyists bank on Republicans to hold back worker wages in Michigan

For the latest Michigan news, follow The ‘Gander on Twitter.

Follow Political Correspondent Kyle Kaminski here.