Grand Traverse County Democrats and Republicans are both preparing to mount vigorous campaigns for local seats in the 2018 election, setting up potentially heated races for the Grand Traverse County commission and state and federal seats representing northern Michigan.

While Grand Traverse County has historically voted red – providing an advantage to Republican candidates – at least 37 legislative seats across the country have flipped from Republican to Democratic control since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017. The trend has energized Democrats heading into this year’s midterm elections and could signal much tighter races locally this fall, according to the chairs of the Grand Traverse Democratic Party and Grand Traverse Republican Party.

“We have viewed this since January 2017 as an opportunity for us to get organized,” says Grand Traverse Dems Chair Chris Cracchiolo. “We feel we have the opportunity to impact local elections way more…we’re very positive and hopeful. We’re confident we can be more competitive than in past years.”

Grand Traverse GOP Chair John Roth says that while he believes Republicans “still have a good chance if we have good candidates for all the seats,” he’s “certainly not overconfident by any means” in this year’s election outcome. “I know a couple seats that involve the city will be difficult,” he says.

All seven Grand Traverse County commission seats will be up for grabs in November, held now by six Republican commissioners and one Green Party commissioner, Tom Mair. Cracchiolo says his party’s intent is to put up Democratic challengers in all seven districts – offering a “full slate” of contenders with the goal of flipping at least a few board seats from Republican to Democrat.

“These won’t just be names on the ballot, these are people who will run campaigns and be energetic and enthused about it,” says Cracchiolo. “Part of the strategy with having a slate is that there’s been so much chaos in the county commission, whether it’s the pension issue or whatever else, that if people want change, they’ll have a slate of candidates they can vote for that will bring change to the county.”

To date, only one candidate – Republican Dan Lathrop, who represents Peninsula Township and a portion of Traverse City in District 1 – has officially filed to run for county commission, according to County Clerk Bonnie Scheele. Major party candidates have until April 24 to file in order to be included in the August primary race. Lathrop tells The Ticker he’d like to see the current commission makeup “wiped clean” with the exception of fellow “fiscal conservatives” Bob Johnson and Ron Clous. “But it’s hard to find people who want to run,” Lathrop says. “It’s a hard and pretty much thankless job. Your heart has to be in it.”

For Johnson’s part, he says he doesn’t plan to run again this fall. “The time commitment has gotten too great,” he says, adding he believes the commission has “reversed some of the progress we had going.” Johnson says he hopes to see candidates run who are “willing to listen to all sides and make good decisions...looking further in the future, not just at the current time."

Of the remaining commission incumbents, Chair Carol Crawford and Mair say they also intend to run again. “I’ve invested all this time, and I’d like to continue making a positive commitment to the county,” says Crawford, who will be running for her third term. Mair says he plans to run again as a Green Party candidate, allowing him to bypass the primary race – though that move could pit him against both Republican and Democratic challengers for his District 2 seat representing portions of Traverse City and Garfield Township. “A three-way race is fine if that’s what happens,” Mair says. “I’m an incumbent and have some advantage no matter what party I run as.”

Commissioner Sonny Wheelock tells The Ticker he hasn’t “made that decision yet” of whether to seek reelection, while Clous and Commissioner Cheryl Gore Follette did not return requests for comment. Roth says he believes Republicans will be well-represented in the county race, though he notes that because of recent “turmoil” within the county, candidates are waiting “until the last minute” to officially file. “They want to make sure it’s right for them…a lot of people (in the past) have been willing to stick their necks out early, and this time around they’re waiting up until the end,” he says.

Congressional and Senate races covering northern Michigan also look to be closely contested this fall. Republican State Representative Larry Inman announced this week he will seek a third and final term representing Grand Traverse County in Michigan’s 104th District. “I will continue to be a strong voice for local control, fairness in educational funding, protecting our environment, preserving our public safety, fixing our roads and bridges, and assisting our veterans with receiving their benefits,” Inman said in a statement announcing his reelection campaign.

Inman will face Democratic challenger Dan O’Neil, a Traverse City native and attorney who served on the city’s planning commission for 10 years. On his website, O’Neil states he’s seeking office because legislators “have created an economy that is rigged to benefit special interests and big corporations at the expense of ordinary people,” noting Michigan’s schools are ranked 42nd in the nation and citing his desire to shut down the Enbridge 5 pipeline. 

In Michigan's 101st House District - covering Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee, and Mason counties - Rep. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington) has announced he won't seek reelection and is instead running for the state's 35th Senate District seat, leaving only Empire Democrat Kathy Wiejaczka declared for the 101st. While an opponent has not yet emerged for State Sen. Wayne Schmidt’s (R-Traverse City) 37th Senate District seat, Roth expects “there will be a challenger” from the Democratic party by the filing deadline.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich) stood to face two Democratic challengers for his Congressional First District seat up until this week. The Michigan Bureau of Elections confirmed to The Ticker Democratic candidate Dwight Brady withdrew his name from the ballot Wednesday, leaving fellow Democratic candidate and Marine Corps veteran Matt Morgan of Traverse City as the remaining declared challenger to Bergman (a fourth candidate, Dana Alan Ferguson, withdrew from the race last year).

Morgan outraised Bergman in campaign donations in the last quarter of 2017 – unusual for a Democratic newcomer challenging a GOP incumbent – though Bergman had a higher fundraising total overall for the year. The seat “is never a give-me by any means,” Roth says – a sentiment echoed for nearly all of this fall’s races.

“When Dan Benishek (R-Mich) was in there, there were a couple elections that were quite close,” Roth says. “You don’t always see the Democratic vote coming in during an off-year election, but this time around they’re certainly motivated to come out and vote. I still think we have an edge, but you never take anything for granted."

Pictured (clockwise from top left): Larry Inman, Dan O'Neil, Jack Bergman, Matt Morgan, Grand Traverse County commission