EAST LANSING — With absentee ballots for November’s general election going out this week, MEA is proud to announce candidates who have earned the recommendation of MEA members through the union’s Screening & Recommendation process. The process, which looks at candidates’ positions on education and labor issues, is decided by MEA members who serve on S&R committees, based on policies and procedures adopted by members elected to the governing bodies of MEA and the MEA-PAC.

Other than statewide races (which are decided by MEA’s Statewide S&R Committee composed of educators from across the state), decisions about MEA candidate recommendations are made at the local level. Recommendations for federal offices are subject to final approval from the NEA Fund for Children & Public Education. If a local S&R committee chose not to make a recommendation, it is noted below.

MEA recommended candidates for the Nov. 8 general election include:
(* denotes MEA member)

Statewide:

• Governor / Lieutenant Governor: Gretchen Whitmer / Garlin D. Gilchrist II
• Secretary of State: Jocelyn Benson
• Attorney General: Dana Nessel
• Michigan Supreme Court: Justice Richard Bernstein & Kyra Harris Bolden
• Michigan Court of Appeals – 2nd District: Judge Sima G. Patel
• State Board of Education: Pamela Pugh & Mitchell Robinson
• University of Michigan Board of Regents: Mike Behm & Kathy White
• Michigan State University Board of Trustees: Renee Knake Jefferson & Dennis Denno
• Wayne State University Board of Governors: Marilyn Kelly & Danielle Atkinson
• Proposal 1 – Transparency & Term Limits: Vote YES
• Proposal 2 – Promote the Vote 2022: Vote YES

U.S. Congress:

• 1st District: Bob Lorinser
• 2nd District: No Recommendation
• 3rd District: Hillary Scholten
• 4th District: Joseph Alfonso
• 5th District: Bart Goldberg
• 6th District: Debbie Dingell
• 7th District: Elissa Slotkin
• 8th District: Daniel Kildee
• 9th District: Brian Jaye
• 10th District: Carl J. Marlinga
• 11th District: Haley Stevens
• 12th District: Rashida Tlaib
• 13th District: Shri Thanedar

State Senate:

• 1st District: Erika Geiss
• 2nd District: Sylvia Santana
• 3rd District: Stephanie Chang
• 4th District: Darrin Camilleri
• 5th District: Dayna Polehanki *
• 6th District: Mary Cavanagh
• 7th District: Jeremy Moss
• 8th District: Mallory McMorrow
• 9th District: Padma Kuppa
• 10th District: Paul Wojno
• 11th District: Veronica Klinefelt
• 12th District: Kevin Hertel
• 13th District: Rosemary Bayer
• 14th District: Sue Shink
• 15th District: Jeff Irwin
• 16th District: Katybeth Davis
• 17th District: No Recommendation
• 18th District: No Recommendation
• 19th District: Sean McCann
• 20th District: No Recommendation
• 21st District: Sarah Anthony
• 22nd District: No Recommendation
• 23rd District: No Recommendation
• 24th District: Theresa J. Fougnie
• 25th District: Bert Van Dyke*
• 26th District: No Recommendation
• 27th District: John D. Cherry
• 28th District: Sam Singh
• 29th District: Winnie Brinks
• 30th District: David LaGrand
• 31st District: Kim S. Nagy *
• 32nd District: Terry J. Sabo
• 33rd District: Mark Bignell
• 34th District: No Recommendation
• 35th District: Kristen McDonald Rivet
• 36th District: Joel A. Sheltrown
• 37th District: Barbara Conley
• 38th District: No Recommendation

State House:

• 1st District: Tyrone Carter
• 2nd District: Tullio Liberati Jr.
• 3rd District: Alabas Farhat
• 4th District: No Recommendation
• 5th District: Natalie Price
• 6th District: Regina Weiss
• 7th District: Helena Scott
• 8th District: Mike McFall
• 9th District: Abraham Aiyash
• 10th District: Joe Tate
• 11th District: Veronica Paiz
• 12th District: No Recommendation
• 13th District: Lori M. Stone *
• 14th District: Donavan McKinney
• 15th District: Erin Byrnes
• 16th District: Stephanie A. Young
• 17th District: Laurie Pohutsky
• 18th District: Jason Hoskins
• 19th District: Samantha Steckloff
• 20th District: Noah Arbit
• 21st District: Kelly Breen
• 22nd District: Matthew Koleszar *
• 23rd District: Jason Morgan *
• 24th District: Ranjeev Puri
• 25th District: Kevin Coleman
• 26th District: Dylan Wegela
• 27th District: Jaime Churches *
• 28th District: Robert Kull
• 29th District: Alex Garza
• 30th District: No Recommendation
• 31st District: Reggie Miller
• 32nd District: Jimmie Wilson Jr.
• 33rd District: Felicia Brabec
• 34th District: No Recommendation
• 35th District: No Recommendation
• 36th District: No Recommendation
• 37th District: Naomi Ludman
• 38th District: Joey Andrews
• 39th District: Jared Polonowski
• 40th District: Christine Morse
• 41st District: Julie M. Rogers
• 42nd District: Justin Mendoza
• 43rd District: Mark Ludwig
• 44th District: Jim Haadsma
• 45th District: No Recommendation
• 46th District: Recommendation Rescinded – No Recommendation
• 47th District: Carrie Rheingans
• 48th District: Jennifer Conlin
• 49th District: Christina M. Kafkakis
• 50th District: No Recommendation
• 51st District: Sarah May-Seward
• 52nd District: Robin McGregor
• 53rd District: Brenda Carter
• 54th District: Shadia Martini
• 55th District: Patricia Bernard
• 56th District: Sharon McDonell
• 57th District: Aisha Farooqi
• 58th District: Nate Shannon *
• 59th District: James Diez
• 60th District: No Recommendation
• 61st District: Denise Mentzer
• 62nd District: No Recommendation
• 63rd District: Kelly L. Noland
• 64th District: No Recommendation
• 65th District: Mark Lingeman
• 66th District: Emily C. Busch
• 67th District: No Recommendation
• 68th District: Cheri Hardmon
• 69th District: Jasper Ryan Martus
• 70th District: Cynthia R. Neeley
• 71st District: Mark D. Zacharda
• 72nd District: No Recommendation
• 73rd District: Julie Brixie
• 74th District: Kara Hope
• 75th District: Penelope Tsernoglou
• 76th District: Angela Witwer
• 77th District: Emily Dievendorf
• 78th District: No Recommendation
• 79th District: Kimberly Y. Kennedy-Barrington
• 80th District: Phil Skaggs
• 81st District: Rachel Hood
• 82nd District: Kristian Grant
• 83rd District: John Fitzgerald
• 84th District: Carol Glanville
• 85th District: Todd Avery
• 86th District: Larry D. Jackson
• 87th District: Will Snyder
• 88th District: Christine Baker
• 89th District: No Recommendation
• 90th District: No Recommendation
• 91st District: No Recommendation
• 92nd District: Anthony D. Feig *
• 93rd District: No Recommendation
• 94th District: Amos O’Neal
• 95th District: Matt Dawson
• 96th District: Kim J. Coonan
• 97th District: Paul M. Whitney
• 98th District: Robert Mroczek
• 99th District: Kenneth A. Kish
• 100th District: No Recommendation
• 101st District: No Recommendation
• 102nd District: Brian Hosticka
• 103rd District: Betsy Coffia
• 104th District: Cathy Albro
• 105th District: No Recommendation
• 106th District: Marie M. Fielder
• 107th District: No Recommendation
• 108th District: No Recommendation
• 109th District: Jenn Hill
• 110th District: No Recommendation

MEA’s local S&R committees also make recommendations in school board races across the state. That list, which is updated regularly, is available online at https://mea.org/mea-recommended-local-school-board-candidates/.

“The mission of the MEA is to protect, advocate, and advance the rights of all education professionals to promote quality public education for all students.”