Computer software glitches, accusations of fraud, and still counting ballots have led to uncertainly with many voters. At the same time, others have accepted the outcome. Here are the unofficial 2020 election results for our community.
Presidential Race: Joe Biden (D) has won Michigan and the county, apparently upsetting incumbent Donald J. Trump (R). While lawsuits and recounting will follow, most officials have called it for Biden/Harris team.
U.S. Senate Race: Gary Peters (D) has edged out John James (R), who was leading in early results but has now fallen short to give Peters the win.
U.S. House Race: All 14 seats were in the running, as they are every two years, and it was an even split giving the Republicans and Democrats 7 each. The 8th district was retained by Elissa Slotkin (D) over Paul Junge (R). And the 11th district was retained by Haley Stevens (D) over Eric S. Esshaki (R).
State Representative: Mark Tisdel (R) beat Barb Anness (D) in the 45th District State Legislature race. And John Reilly (R) beat Jody LaMacchia (D) in the 46th district.
State Proposals: Both the proposals to amend the state’s constitution passed. Proposal 20-1 allows continued collection of money from oil and gas mining on state lands; and Proposal 20-2 requires a search warrant to access electronic data from an individual.
Oakland County Races: David Coulter (D), who was appointed county executive after the passing of L. Brooks Patterson (R), won both the partial term and a new four-year term against Mike Kowall (R). Karen McDonald (D) beat Lin Goetz (R) in the run for county prosecutor. Lisa Brown (D) defeated challenger Tina Brown (R) in the race for county clerk. Tina Brown currently serves as the Rochester Hills City Clerk. Robert Wittenberg (D) won the race for county treasurer against Joe Kent (R). Jim Nash (D), the current water resources commissioner, retained his title against opponent Jim Stevens (R). Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard was reelected over Vincent Gregory (D). The county commissioners were almost split with the Republicans taking 10 seats and the Democrats taking 11 seats. In the 3rd district, Michael Spisz (R) doubled the votes of his competitor; in the 11th district, Thomas E. Kuhn (R) edged out his opponent; and in the 15th district, Adam Kochenderfer won by 1,127 after previously being announced he lost by 104 due to a technical glitch. Oakland County also passed their Parks and Recreation millage by a large margin.
Oakland Township: Dominic Abbate (R) took the vote for Oakland Township Supervisor over opponent Ralph Jessee, Jr. (D). Robin Buxar (R) ran unopposed and won for township clerk. John Giannangeli (R) also ran unopposed and won for township treasurer. In addition, all four republicans who ran for township trustee were unopposed and won – Jack E. Elder, Dave Mabry, Lana Mangiapane, and Andy Zale. Oakland Township elected seven park commissioners, Emily Barkham had the most votes. And both the renewal millages for fire/EMS and historic district passed handsomely.
Additional information for Oakland County can be found on their elections page, such judges, school board, and library board elections, as well as all the races within the county. Please note that the vote totals are for the county and do not necessarily reflect the outcome overall for the state or the country.
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