Voter guide: Other statewide races in Michigan

The following are brief biographies of each major party candidate pulled from their official websites, our previous reporting, campaign websites and campaign social media pages. Candidates without that information were contacted, and in some cases did not respond. If the candidate has a campaign website, we've linked to that under "Read more here." This guide does not include third-party candidates or candidates in noncompetitive races. For a full listing of all candidates, including from third parties, see here.

Justice of Supreme Court, eight-year term - (1) Position

Andrew Fink, Republican-nominated

Fink is currently serving his second term in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing a district covering Branch and Hillsdale counties and the city of Hudson in Lenawee County. He is the Republican minority vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. According to his website, Fink began his legal career as a judge advocate while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Upon completing his service as a Marine, Fink joined his family’s law firm, Fink and Fink, where he practiced civil litigation, probate litigation, property law, and municipal law. Along with the Michigan Republican Party, Fink is endorsed by several former government officials in Michigan, including former Gov. John Engler, former Attorneys General Mike Cox and Bill Schuette and others. Read more about Fink: finkformichigan.com.

Kimberly Ann Thomas, Democratic-nominated

At their state nominating convention in August, Democrats selected Thomas as the party’s nominee for the open, eight-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court. Thomas is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and the director and co-founder of the university's Juvenile Justice Clinic. At the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students represent minors charged in the criminal justice system, as well as adults charged as juveniles. She also was previously appointed to the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform in 2021-22. Along with the endorsement of the Michigan Democratic Party, Thomas is backed by several labor unions and Reproductive Freedom for All, a pro-abortion access group, per her campaign website. Read more here.

Justice of Supreme Court, four-year term - (1) Position

Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, Democratic-nominated

Bolden, the lone incumbent justice seeking reelection, took to the bench in early 2023 after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer nominated her to replace retiring former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack the year before. Democrats also nominated Bolden for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022 but she finished third in that year’s election. Because she was appointed to fill McCormack’s term, which was set to expire in 2028, Bolden’s seat is up for a four-year term. Bolden spent two terms as a lawmaker in the Michigan House of Representatives, from 2018 to 2022. Before being elected to the House, Bolden was a judicial clerk for Judge John Murphy in Wayne County and later practiced civil litigation at Lewis & Munday. Read more here.

Patrick William O’Grady, Republican-nominated

O’Grady, nominated by Republicans for the four-year term on the ballot, has been a judge in Branch County’s 15th Circuit Court since 2008. Before becoming a judge, O’Grady worked as an assistant prosecutor and a Michigan State Police trooper, according to his website. On his campaign website, O’Grady touts endorsements from four former Michigan Supreme Court justices: Robert Young Jr., Cliff Taylor, Maura Corrigan and Steve Markman. Former President Donald Trump also endorsed O’Grady on social media in September. Read more here.

Member of the State Board of Education - (2) positions

Theodore Jones, D

Jones previously worked as a central office administrator for Detroit's public school system, according to his campaign website. He currently works as the senior director of talent initiatives at Global Detroit. In his convention acceptance speech, he promised to be "a tireless advocate" to ensure students in Michigan can recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including through tutoring and small student group initiatives, the Free Press previously reported. Jones has a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in educational leadership from Michigan State University. Read more here.

Adam Zemke, D

Zemke is a former Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives from Ann Arbor. Upon accepting his nomination, he talked about "extremists targeting our kids" and a "white-washing" of history, the Free Press reported in August. Zemke called the upcoming election a moment to "save public education." He also called for more funding for public schools. Zemke has worked as an engineer in the automotive, aerospace and defense industries, according to the website of the Library of Michigan. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University. Read more here.

Tom McMillin, R

McMillin, of Oakland Township, is a certified public accountant who owns a small accounting firm and a former state lawmaker who has been a member of the state board since 2017. His biography on the State Board of Education website describes him as a strong advocate for local control, parental choice and students' rights. He opposes efforts to centralize education at the state and federal levels, the biography says. McMillin served in the state House from 2009 through 2014 and is a former mayor of Auburn Hills and member of the Oakland County Commission. He serves on the board of Crossroads Pregnancy Center in Auburn Hills. Read more here.

Nikki Snyder, R

Snyder, of Livingston County, is completing her first term on the board after she was first elected in 2016. The Eastern Michigan University graduate and mother of three served first as a registered nurse and then as a nurse educator at Washtenaw Community College, according to her biography on the State Board of Education website. Snyder also has experience as a disability advocate, her biography says. Snyder served as the board’s delegate to the National Association of State Boards of Education. She has previously run for the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate but did not make it through the Republican primary in either, according to Ballotpedia. The candidate did not provide a campaign website.

Regent of the University of Michigan - (2) positions

Denise Ilitch, D

Ilitch, an incumbent Democrat from Birmingham, is running for a third eight-year term on the Board of Regents. She was first elected to the board in 2008 and reelected in 2016. She is an owner of Ilitch Family Companies, which owns Little Caesars Pizza, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers and other companies. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree and received a law degree from the University of Detroit. She lists on her campaign website expanding access to financial aid and scholarships and investing in mental health programs as some of her top priorities. Read more here.

Shauna Ryder Diggs, D

Ryder Diggs is a dermatologist who previously served on the Board of Regents from 2013 until 2021. She was the first physician to serve on the board, according to her campaign website. The Democrat from Grosse Pointe attended the University of Michigan for her undergraduate studies and medical school and completed her internship and residency at the U-M, her website states. Among her campaign priorities, she lists supporting all three U-M campuses, making education programs affordable and protecting students and university employees from discrimination and misconduct. Read more here.

Carl Meyers, R

Carl Meyers, a Republican from Dearborn, is senior vice president of investments at Raymond James, a financial services firm. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1979, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has railed against the Democratic majority on the Board of Regents. “It’s clear that Michigan Republicans believe that the Democratic controlled Board has taken UM in the wrong direction,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “Once elected to the U of M Board of Regents I am committed to being a voice of change.” Read more here.

Sevag Vartanian, R

Sevag Vartanian is a Republican who lives in Novi and runs an asset management firm. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in actuarial mathematics and went on to University of Chicago’s business school, according to his website. When he attended the U-M, he was a varsity cheerleader. One of his top campaign priorities is to make U-M “a more inclusive campus environment where conservative opinions and values can be freely expressed by students and faculty,” his website states. Vartanian ran and lost his bid for a seat on the board in 2022. Read more here.

Trustee of Michigan State University - (2) positions

Rebecca Bahar-Cook, D

The CEO of Capitol Fundraising Associates, Bahar-Cook, who lives in East Lansing with her family, has extensive experience in fundraising and nonprofit management, having also worked with Children’s Trust Michigan, Equality Michigan and the Greater Lansing Food Bank. She has also consulted on political campaigns and is a Michigan State alumna and the parent of two recent graduates. Bahar-Cook says she is running “to create a future where students aren’t burdened by crushing loan debt” and “where collaboration and civility are the standard for trustees, administration and all stakeholders.” Read more here.

Thomas Stallworth III, D

A former state representative from Detroit who served 2011-14, Stallworth lives in Detroit according to his Facebook page and is a graduate of Michigan State University. A former manager with the Detroit Urban League, he later worked for the city of Detroit under Mayor Coleman Young. According to his legislative biography, Stallworth was an executive at MichCon and DTE Energy, helped expand the THAW and Heat Bank programs and served as a Detroit School Board member. He also served as chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus in 2013. He is the son of former state Rep. Alma Stallworth, D-Detroit.

Mike Balow, R

Balow, of Plymouth, was raised in Detroit and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, being commissioned as a surface warfare officer. After deployments to the Middle East during seven years of active duty, Balow moved to Plymouth Township and started working in real estate. The father of three daughters, Balow says on his website that he is running for the trustees “to help be a voice of reason and change” to what he believes is “an incredibly dysfunctional environment at the MSU Leadership level.” His website says he would work to keep tuition as low as possible for working families and “hold leadership and faculty accountable for their constitutional oaths.” Read more here.

Julie Maday, R

Maday, of Novi, is the wife of a Michigan State alumnus, her son is a recent grad and her daughter still attends the university, according to her website. In Novi, she has served as a city councilwoman, Planning Commission member and is currently on the Economic Development Committee. She says she is running for trustee to reintroduce “a culture of accountability and transparency,” ensure tuition is affordable and reject what she calls “cancel culture.” “MSU needs a new Board of adults willing to make peace with past mistakes and able to effect positive change,” she says. Read more here.

Governor of Wayne State University - (2) positions

Rasha Demashkieh, D

Demashkieh, of Fort Gratiot, immigrated to Michigan with her husband and attended Wayne State University to become a pharmacist, according to her campaign website. Her previous experience includes serving on the board for the Port Huron Area School District and serving on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Her website notes she is “committed to promoting student success, accessibility and affordability.” Read more here.

Mark Gaffney, D

Gaffney, of Detroit, is a current member of the Board of Governors running for reelection. He is a labor leader whose experience includes having served as president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, having directed the Economic Alliance of Michigan, having been a board member of the Labor and Employment Relations Association of Southeast Michigan and having served on the executive committee for the Michigan Council for Labor and Economic Growth, according to his biography on the university’s website. He did not appear to have a campaign website at the time this voter guide was being written.

Michael Busuito, R

Busuito, of Royal Oak, is a current member of the Board of Governors running for reelection. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and graduated from WSU’s medical school in 1981, according to his campaign website. He is active in philanthropic causes, his medical career and the training of future physicians. Read more here.

Sunny Reddy, R

Sunny Reddy is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who earned his master’s degree in chemical engineering from WSU in 1994, according to his campaign website. On the website he outlines a vision for the university’s future, including ensuring tuition “remains reasonable,” investing in STEM research, investing in community development, and “fighting wokeness.” Reddy lives in Bloomfield Hills with his wife of 30 years and his daughter is a recent Yale graduate. Read more here.

(This story was updated to add new information and correct a misspelling.)

This year's voter guide was compiled by reporters Clara Hendrickson, John Wisely, Arpan Lobo, Paul Egan, Todd Spangler, Niraj Warikoo, Christina Hall, Bill Laytner, Gina Kaufman, Ahmad Garnett, Jenna Prestininzi, Bella Bakeman, Carmella Guaglianone and Diamy Wang, with editing help from Emily Lawler, Pat Byrne, Sally Tato and Jewel Gopwani.

Questions about this guide, or about election coverage in the Free Press? Contact State Government & Politics Editor Emily Lawler: [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Voter guide: Other statewide races in Michigan