Learn how Michigan selects nominees for key statewide offices through party conventions, early endorsements, and how you can get involved in the process.
Most Michigan voters are used to walking into a polling place in August or November, filling out a ballot, and assuming that’s when candidates are chosen. But for several of Michigan’s most powerful statewide offices, the real decision-making happens months earlier — inside party conventions.
And unless you’re active inside a political party, you probably never see it. Learn how Michigan’s convention system works, what early endorsement conventions are (and are not), how delegates are selected, and where citizens can plug into the process.
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Michigan does not use a public primary election to choose party nominees for several statewide offices. Instead, nominees are selected at party conventions.
Those offices include:
Under Michigan Election Law (MCL 168.591–168.596), political parties hold state conventions in even-numbered years to nominate candidates for these offices.
That means voters do not directly choose the party nominee in the August primary. Instead, delegates selected through a layered process vote at a convention to determine who appears on the November ballot.
Michigan law requires what is commonly called the “fall state convention.”
Under MCL 168.591, state conventions for nominating candidates in even-numbered years must be held at least 60 days before the November general election.
County conventions are held after the August primary to elect delegates to the state convention (MCL 168.592). The structure looks like this:
Being elected a precinct delegate gives you a vote at the county convention — but it does not automatically make you a delegate to the state convention.
Only after the fall state convention are candidates officially nominated and certified for placement on the November general election ballot.
This is the legally required nomination process under Michigan Election Law.
In recent election cycles, both major parties have adopted a separate, earlier step: endorsement conventions.
These are not required by state law. They are governed by party rules.
In 2026:
Michigan Bridge reported on April 22, 2026, in their article, Ex-Michigan party leaders: Time to ditch nominating conventions, that former Democratic and Republican leaders are working to get a question on the November ballot asking voters if they want to move the nomination of candidates for Secretary of State and Attorney General to the primary elections vs. party conventions.
An endorsed candidate still must secure the official nomination at the legally required state convention.
After the fall party conventions, each party's official nominees are placed on the general election ballot for voters to choose from.
Endorsements influence the race. Nominations determine the ballot.
Key dates include:
February = counties choose the voters. Eligible participants include:
At these county conventions, participants do not vote directly for Attorney General or Secretary of State. Instead, they elect delegates and alternates to the March 28 State Endorsement Convention.
March = those delegates choose the endorsed candidates. Delegates from across Michigan gather in one location to:
This is a statewide delegate vote.
Key Dates Include:
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The Michigan Democratic Party’s State Endorsement Convention follows a different structure than the Republican process.
Voting eligibility at the State Endorsement Convention is based primarily on party membership and credentialing, not on being elected as a delegate in a prior public election.
To vote at the April 19, 2026, endorsement convention, an individual must:
Under party rules, the 30-day membership requirement does not apply to precinct delegates, Democratic elected officials, or Democratic nominees to partisan office. Those individuals may become members prior to credentialing at the convention.
March = committees and convention structure are put in place. County and district conventions are held on or before March 28, 2026 — but they do not select the endorsed statewide candidates. Instead, those conventions:
In other words, the March conventions organize the internal framework of the endorsement convention.
April = credentialed members choose the endorsed candidates. On April 19, 2026, credentialed Michigan Democratic Party members gather in Detroit for the State Endorsement Convention.
Participants:
Unlike the Republican process, this is not a limited body of delegates elected at county conventions.
Instead, voting is conducted by credentialed party members who meet the membership deadline requirements.
Unlike the Republican early endorsement process, which relies on a chain of elected delegates chosen at county conventions, Democratic participation in the endorsement convention is tied directly to party membership and credentialing requirements.
For Democrats in 2026, it is credentialed party members — not only a limited body of previously elected delegates — who cast votes at the State Endorsement Convention.
A common question is: If endorsements happen in March or April, why run for precinct delegate in the August primary?
The answer is structural.
Precinct delegate is the entry point into party decision-making.
If someone wants influence inside a political party, this is where it begins.
These conventions:
The system is not new. It is a longstanding feature of Michigan’s election structure.
But because most voters do not directly participate in conventions, the process can feel opaque.
There are two primary paths.
Anyone may attend state conventions as a guest. Only credentialed participants may vote.
The offices selected at these conventions:
These are powerful roles.
Understanding how nominees are selected clarifies where influence resides — and when citizens can engage.
The most consequential political decisions for these offices often happen long before Election Day. And those decisions are made by people who showed up at conventions.
Michigan’s system does not hide nominations from voters. But it does require participation inside party structures.
For those who want influence, the door is open — at the precinct level. For those who don’t engage, the decisions will still be made.
The difference is who is in the room when it happens.
Michigan Election Law (Act 116 of 1954, Chapter XXV)
Available through the Michigan Legislature: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-116-1954-XXV.pdf
Michigan Republican Party – 2026 Endorsement Convention Information
Available at: https://mi.gop/endorsement-convention
Michigan Democratic Party – 2026 Call to Endorsement Convention
Available through the Michigan Democratic Party: https://michigandems.com/convention/