Michigan Democratic convention marked by Israel protest
Michigan Democrats rounded out their November ballot Saturday when voting on nominees for state Supreme Court, Board of Education and more. Bridge photo by Jordyn Hermani.
by Jordyn Hermani聽 (Bridge Michigan)
LANSING 鈥 Michigan Democrats voted to finalize their general election ticket Saturday, stressing party unity and support for Vice President Kamala Harris heading into November to delegates at their annual state party convention.
But the messages of unity were at least partially undercut by protesters who interrupted the National Anthem to shout at a University of Michigan regent about the ongoing war in Gaza.
Speakers at the convention in Lansing noted Michigan expected role as a top prize in the November election, with both Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump focusing on the state.
鈥淎s Michigan goes, so goes America,鈥 said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrest, one of the handful of state and local leaders to address delegates.
Michigan has some history in picking presidents. Since 1980, Michigan voters have backed the eventual winning presidential candidate in聽every election, bar the 2000 and 2004 contests.
Saturday state convention almost immediately followed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which ended Thursday.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who delivered a prime-time speech at the DNC Thursday evening, spoke in state party聽caucus meetings聽earlier Saturday but did not address the full convention later in the day.
But other high-ranking officials, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly, roused the crowd, pushing hard on the concept of the party unifying behind candidates to beat Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in November.
“That is what matters,鈥 said Slotkin, who running for Michigan open U.S. Senate seat against聽Republican Mike Rogers this fall. 鈥淭hat is what we can do when we鈥檙e the party of the big tent.鈥
Protesters disrupted the convention early on, shouting at U-M Regent Jordan Acker during the National Anthem and questioning whether the university would divest from Israel, among other things.
Similar protests have followed Democrats throughout this year campaign season, reemerging with emphasis after somewhat subsiding when President Joe Biden聽removed himself from the ballot聽in July.
Acker later told Bridge Michigan the protesters had approached him to question whether he thought reports of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers allegedly committing聽sexual assault聽against Palestinian prisoners was 鈥渁ppropriate.鈥
He said he told the protesters 鈥渘o鈥 before countering to ask them whether they condemned Hamas鈥 Oct. 7 attack in Israel and related聽sexual assault allegations.
鈥淭he protester did not answer, and I said, 鈥業f you cannot say no, I am done talking to you,鈥 Acker told Bridge in a text. 鈥淎nd that when the shouting started.鈥
The Israel-Hamas war is an issue Democrats have struggled with this campaign cycle as Biden continues to stand by Israel despite mounting concern about Palestinian citizens killed or harmed in the conflict.
Earlier this month in Romulus,聽a Harris speech聽was interrupted by聽an anti-war demonstration. Earlier this week, some protesters were reportedly arrested outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In February, Michigan saw that movement culminate with a push for residents to聽vote 鈥榰ncommitted鈥櫬爄n the state primary as a message to Biden.
That effort garnered about 100,000 votes, or about聽13% of the overall number聽of ballots cast, and was mostly seen as an unsuccessful attempt to signal a push for policy change out of Michigan.
The incident with Acker on Saturday did not seem part of a larger demonstration effort at the convention, however, and party officials moved on with the program as planned.
Michigan 鈥渨ill show the country again how to get things done,鈥 outgoing U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said later in the afternoon. Democrats have 鈥渢errific鈥 candidates, she added, 鈥渁nd we need to be leaning in and supporting all of them.鈥
The only contested race Democrats had at their Saturday convention was for two seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents.
Taking home those nominations were聽Shauna Ryder Diggs, a dermatologist and former at-large member of the board from 2013 to 2021, and incumbent Regent聽Denise Ilitch.
Illitch is the former president of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., a privately held business that manages Little Caesar Enterprises, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Tigers and Olympia Entertainment.
In every other race, candidates won by virtue of being the only individuals running. That includes:
- For seats on the Michigan Supreme Court: Incumbent Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Thomas, a trial and appellate lawyer as well as law professor at the University of Michigan Law School
- For seats on the State Board of Education: Former state Rep. Adam Zemke and Theodore Jones, senior director of talent initiatives for the nonprofit economic growth organization Global Detroit
- For seats on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees: Former state Rep. Thomas Stallworth and Rebecca Bahar-Cook, a small-business owner
- For seats on the Wayne State University Board of Governors: Pharmacist Rasha Demashkieh and incumbent Mark Gaffney, who has served on the board since 2016
This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with聽Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan聽is Michigan largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at聽.
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