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Michigan Secretary of State 2026 Voter Guide

Get to know the candidates to be the next Michigan Secretary of State!

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On November 4th, 2026, Michiganders will vote for the next Republican or Democratic Secretary of State. The current Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, has served for 8 years and is term-limited. It's time, yet again, for a fresh perspective!

This article summarizes what’s publicly known so far about the candidates in the race, based on information available from official filings, news reports, and candidate communications. It will be updated as new information becomes available.

Bookmark this page for reference throughout the campaign and follow the candidates on social media. We will be tracking articles about the candidates and will share them with you here.

Table of Contents

About This Article: Last update: 2025-10-16. While we do our best to be thorough and accurate, we might miss something—so always double-check official sources when possible. Michigan Women is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, and our goal is simply to make civic information easier to find and understand.

The candidates listed have active campaign committees on file with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. Some campaigns are in early stages and may have limited public information available at this time.

How Michigan Picks Party Nominees for Secretary of State

Democratic Candidates

  1. Garlin Gilchrest, Michigan Lieutenant Governor
  2. Barb Byrum, Ingham County Clerk
  3. Suzanna Shkreli, Former Michigan Lottery Commissioner

Republican Candidates

  1. Anthony Forlini, Macomb County Clerk
  2. Monica Yatooma, GEIA, Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships
  3. Amanda Love, [Can't find where she works]
  4. Timothy Smith, Gentex (not sure what position)

Dropped Out Candidates

  1. Adam Hollier (D), Army Reserves, Former MI State Senator
  2. Aghogho Edevbie (D), MI Deputy Secretary of State

Political Action Committees

More Sources

How Michigan Picks Party Nominees for Secretary of State

Michigan doesn’t hold public primaries for most statewide offices—including Secretary of State, Attorney General, Michigan Supreme Court, and state university boards. Instead, each political party selects its nominees at conventions, where credentialed delegates decide who appears on the November general election ballot.

Read, How Michigan Chooses Nominees for Statewide Offices, to learn how the process works, how early endorsements have shifted the political calendar, and how you can participate in shaping who makes it to the general election.

Democratic Candidates

Garlin Gilchrest (D)

  • Website: https://garlingilchrist.com
  • Current Job: State of Michigan
  • Job Title: Lieutenant Governor
  • Age: 42
  • Date of Birth: 9/25/1982
  • City: Detroit
  • County: Wayne

 

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Barb Byrum (D)

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  • Website: https://barbbyrum.com/
  • Current Job: Ingham County
  • Job Title: Clerk
  • Age: 47
  • Date of Birth: 11/10/1977
  • City: [Not sure]
  • County: Ingham

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Suzanna Shkreli (D)

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  • Website: https://suzannashkreli.com/
  • Former Job: Michigan Lottery (Resigned to run for SOS)
  • Job Title: Former Commissioner
  • Age: 
  • Date of Birth: 
  • City: 
  • County: Oakland

 

Articles

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Republican Candidates

Anthony Forlini (R)

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  • Website: https://forliniforus.com/
  • Current job: Macomb County
  • Job Title: Clerk
  • Age: 63
  • Date of Birth: 02/04/1962
  • City: [Not sure]
  • County: Macomb

 

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Monica Yatooma (R)

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  • Website: https://monicaformichigan.com/
  • Current Job: GEIA
  • Job Title: Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships
  • Age: 38
  • Date of Birth: 1987
  • City: Commerce Township
  • County: Oakland

 

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Amanda Love (R)

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  • Website: https://www.loveformi.net/
  • Current Job: [Can't find]
  • Job Title: [Can't Find]
  • Age: -
  • Date of Birth: -
  • City: Independence Township
  • County: Oakland

 

Articles

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Timothy Smith (R)

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Articles

  • Can't find any!

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Dropped Out Candidates

Adam Hollier (D)

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Aghogho Edevbie (D)

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Political Committees

Understanding political committees and campaign finance laws is crucial for informed voting. Learn about their roles, regulations, and how to stay informed: What Are Political Committees (PACs) in Elections.

The following committees and organizations are political action committees (PACs) that have registered campaign activity related to the Secretary of State race. They are not candidates.

  • Jaffe Snider Raitt Heuer and Weiss Political Committee
    Affiliated with the Michigan law firm Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss
    https://www.jaffelaw.com/
  • Kevin Coleman Future Leaders Fund
    Political leadership PAC associated with Michigan political activity
    No public website identified
  • UNITE HERE TIP Campaign Committee – Michigan
    Labor union political committee representing hospitality workers
    https://unitehere.org/
  • End Citizens United Non-Federal
    National campaign-finance reform political action committee
    https://endcitizensunited.org/
  • Conservative Voices
    Ideological advocacy political action committee
    No Michigan-specific website identified
  • Joe Aragona for Majority
    Leadership-style political action committee associated with Michigan legislative activity
    No public website identified
  • Michigan Legacy PAC
    Michigan-based political action committee
    No public website identified
  • CandicePAC
    Candidate-named political action committee
    No active public website identified
  • Advancing for Detroit and MI PAC
    Regional advocacy political action committee focused on Detroit and Southeast Michigan
    No public website identified
  • Michigan Aggregates Association
    Industry trade association political action committee
    https://www.michiganaggregates.org/
  • Chaldean Chamber Political Action Committee
    Political arm of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce
    https://www.chaldeanchamber.com/
  • Michigan Boating Industries Association PAC
    Industry association political action committee for Michigan boating businesses
    https://www.mibia.org/
  • Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 PAC
    Labor union political action committee
    https://ua333.org/
  • Michigan Motorcycle Riders PAC
    Issue-based advocacy political action committee
    No public website identified
  • Michigan Manufactured Housing, RV and Campground Association PAC
    Industry association political action committee
    https://www.michcampgrounds.com/
  • Miller Canfield PAC
    Law-firm affiliated political action committee
    https://www.millercanfield.com/
  • United Food and Commercial Workers Active Ballot Club
    Labor union political action committee
    https://www.ufcw.org/
  • Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 85 PAC
    Labor union political action committee
    https://www.local85.org/

Data Source and Methodology

The committee information listed comes from publicly available campaign finance data published by the Michigan Bureau of Elections. The data was accessed through the state’s campaign finance portal at https://mi-boe.entellitrak.com/.

To generate this list, the Campaigns search was used, the Campaign Type field was set to “Candidate,” and the Office Sought field was set to “State & Judicial” with the Office Name set to “Secretary of State.” All other fields were left blank before running the search. This query returns political committees that have registered campaign activity related to the Michigan Secretary of State race.

The presence of a committee in this list does not indicate that the committee represents a candidate or that a candidate is officially on the ballot.

More Resources

Other Voter Guides

More Articles

Content Disclaimer: Our team researches information from official websites, news outlets, and other public resources to make it easier for Michigan residents to stay informed. We strive to provide accurate, balanced, and up-to-date information, but we may occasionally miss updates or changes. Michigan Women is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and does not support or oppose any political candidate or party. This content is intended solely for civic education and public awareness.