Nearly six years have passed since Michigan certified its 2020 presidential results and upheld them in court. A Republican-led state Senate committee reviewed them and found no evidence to support claims of widespread fraud. Yet stolen elections still appear on Michigan ballots today.
According to a tracking site run by the democracy group States United Action, at least a dozen candidates on Michigan’s November ballot are classified as election deniers, including Republican nominees for governor and US Senate and eight nominees for US House.
States United defines an “election denier” as anyone who has spread lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, falsely claimed that Donald Trump won in 2020, pressured officials not to certify the results, backed lawsuits to overturn the results based on baseless theories, or refused to concede after the results were confirmed. The site touts its use of documented “proof points,” such as votes, court filings, public remarks, and social media posts.
The race for governor
In the race for the governor’s mansion, both John James and Donna Brandenburg qualify for an “election denier” title, an important distinction considering the governor is one of three statewide officials in Michigan who oversee elections.
John James, the Republican nominee, will square off against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. James took three weeks to concede after losing the 2020 US Senate race to Gary Peters by about 92,000 votes. In July, during a rally in Milford alongside President Trump, James thanked Trump for coming to Michigan, “where you’ve won three times.” Trump won Michigan’s general election only twice, in 2016 and 2024. Joe Biden won it in 2020.
When news station WLNS asked James about the remark in August, he said he meant Trump’s three primary wins, but still cast doubt on 2020: “There are people in this state who have massive, massive questions about how the election was prosecuted,” he said, “especially with Jocelyn Benson having her thumb on the scale in 2020.” He offered no further evidence to back his claims.
Gubernatorial candidate Donna Brandenburg is also on the Michigan ballot representing the US Taxpayers Party. She was one of six plaintiffs in a 2022 federal lawsuit that asked a court to order the state to “rerun the Michigan 2020 presidential election as soon as possible.” She won 0.4% of the vote for governor in 2022.
The race for attorney general
The attorney general’s office pursues accountability when Michigan election laws are broken. In 2023, 16 Republicans were charged with felonies for posing as Trump electors. A judge dismissed those charges in 2025, but the case underscored the office’s role in maintaining election integrity.
Now, Libertarian Jason Dye wants the job. In 2022, he shared an ad for 2000 Mules, a film claiming paid “mules” stuffed ballot boxes in 2020, with the caption “No voter fraud just proof of it here.” Its distributor later pulled the film and apologized. The Associated Press fact-checked the claims and found them baseless. The tracker flags neither major-party nominee, Democrat Eli Savit or Republican Doug Lloyd.
The race for US Senate
US senators write federal election law, confirm judges and Justice Department officials who handle election cases, and vote on challenges when Congress counts presidential electoral votes. That last power isn’t hypothetical: On Jan. 6, 2021, hours after a mob stormed the US Capitol, eight senators still voted to overturn results from states won by Joe Biden. The winner of Michigan’s seat this year will serve until 2033, which means they’ll be in the room when 2028 presidential results are counted.
Republican nominee Mike Rogers conceded to Elissa Slotkin after losing the 2024 Senate race by fewer than 20,000 votes, and a routine state audit confirmed the results.
Nearly a year later, at an October 2025 event in Muskegon, he changed his tune: “There were some ballots that showed up at 5:30. I wish I were kidding. In a van.”
Chris Thomas, Michigan’s former longtime elections director, called the claim “ridiculous.” Ballots from drop boxes and same-day registrations routinely arrive at Detroit’s counting center in the early morning hours after an election.
Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in November.
The race for US House
Every House member elected this November will still be in office when Congress counts the 2028 presidential results, and only one-fifth of each chamber is needed to force a vote to overturn a state’s electoral votes.
Eight of Michigan’s Republican nominees are election deniers, according to the States United tracker’s criteria. Hours after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Jack Bergman (MI-01), Tim Walberg (MI-05), and Lisa McClain (MI-09) voted to reject Biden’s electoral votes. Weeks earlier, Bergman, Walberg, John Moolenaar (MI-02), and Bill Huizenga (MI-04) signed a brief asking the Supreme Court to throw out Michigan’s results, a case the court refused to hear.
Tom Barrett (MI-07), then a state senator, pushed to delay certification pending an audit. He now runs in one of the country’s most competitive races for the US House.
James Hooper (MI-12) was a plaintiff in the failed “Kraken” lawsuit to hand Michigan to Trump, and his campaign site still calls 2020 “hijacked.” Heather Smiley (MI-06) has claimed immigrants in the country illegally are being encouraged to vote. A state review of 2024 found 15 likely noncitizen ballots out of 5.7 million.
Election denial in Michigan didn’t end with 2020. This year, the Justice Department demanded Wayne County hand over its 2024 ballots and kept up its legal fight over the state’s voter rolls.
Michigan’s constitution requires that results be certified, but that rule only works if the people in charge follow it. This fall’s elected officials could shape the 2028 outcome.
How to vote in Michigan
Register online by October 19, or in person at your clerk’s office through Election Day. Early voting starts on Oct. 24, absentee requests are due at 5 p.m. Oct. 30, and ballots are due by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
Check your ballot at the Michigan Voter Information Center.
