Anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ lawmakers and groups back Andrew Fink for Michigan Supreme Court 

Republican state Rep. Andrew Fink 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 Republican state Rep. Andrew Fink, the Republican-backed candidate who is facing off against Democratic-backed candidate Kimberly Ann Thomas in this year’s election, has a few key supporters worth mentioning as voters try to suss out which candidate deserves their vote.

Who is Andrew Fink?

Fink opted against running for a third term representing Adams Township in the state Legislature this year to instead pursue a Republican bid for the Michigan Supreme Court.

During his time in the Legislature, Fink sponsored legislation to ban abortion after fetal viability, as well as a bill that would have reportedly created a legal loophole in the state’s newly expanded civil rights laws—namely by allowing for discrimination against LGBTQ people, just as long as that discrimination aligned with the practice of a religion. Both bills failed to advance.

Fink is also a card-carrying member of the Federalist Society, a right-wing legal network that has reportedly adopted a wide range of election-related conspiracy theories and whose members have publicly promoted false statements about a “stolen” election in 2020.

And since taking office, Fink has repeatedly voted against bills that were designed to make it easier for Michiganders to vote—including new laws to expand voter registration—as well as laws that criminalize poll worker intimidation and regulate artificial intelligence political ads.

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 Fink?

Right to Life of Michigan, a staunch, anti-abortion organization with a history of advocating for state legislation to restrict reproductive rights in Michigan, is backing Fink this year.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a lobbyist group with ties to right-wing political movements and anti-worker policies, has also endorsed Fink this year—in part because he has 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.

Fink 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.

Fink’s campaign website also features an endorsement from Whitmer’s opponent in the 2018 election, former Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, who was criticized on the campaign trail for his opposition to abortion rights, as well as tax policies that benefit wealthy corporations.

A long list of other ultra-conservative Republican politicians are also listed under Fink’s endorsements—including several sponsors of state-level anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ bills, as well as several state lawmakers who have been identified as election deniers in a recent report. 

That includes Republican state Rep. Angela Rigas, who attended the insurrection in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as US Congressman Tim Walberg, who has voiced support for laws that sentence people to death for being part of the LGBTQ community.

Fink is also endorsed by a lengthy list of current and former law enforcement officials—including Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy, who has been widely criticized for using taxpayer resources to host a rally for ex-President Donald Trump at a county building this summer. 

Joe Moss, the leader of the far-right Ottawa Impact group, has also endorsed Fink, as has former Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot, who was stripped of his election duties after he was criminally charged as part of an alleged “false electors” scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

Fink’s campaign website also features an endorsement from Dr. Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College—which is Fink’s alma mater and has reportedly become involved in many political issues in recent years, including Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020.

Citizens for Traditional Values as well as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) have also endorsed Fink. Both groups have a long 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

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