Current Events > Michigan Republican county commissioner loses recall in 20 point loss to Dem opp

(+) Yeah! (+)

Republican county commissioner has been unseated in Michigan after losing to her Democratic challenger by 20 percentage points.
Chris Kleinjans won an Ottawa County election on Tuesday with 60 percent of the vote share, while the Republican incumbent Lucy Ebel lost, having received 40 percent.
Michigan is a battleground state that will be key to November's presidential election. Donald Trump won the county with 61 percent of the vote in 2020.
Newsweek contacted the Michigan Republican Party by email outside of normal business hours to comment on this story and will update this story if there is a reply.
The Context
Ebel had faced a recall petition that was signed by some 3,000 people after she voted in favor of a motion to reverse Adeline Hambley's selection as the top health official in the county on February 28, 2023. There were concerns about the legality of the motion.
What happens in Michigan may indicate the result of the 2024 election as it is a key swing state. In 2016, Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for the election, took Michigan, but incumbent President Joe Biden flipped it back in 2020, suggesting that the result in 2024 will be tight in this state.
What We Know
Ebel had said that she would win her election. "If I know that people of Ottawa County and District Two, they're very conservative, and I think that they will want to keep Ottawa County conservative," she told Fox 17 prior to the vote.
However, Ebel gained 1,665 votes, while Kleinjans won 2,502. Initial voter data showed a voter turnout of 20.6 percent across the county.
Views
"I am grateful and humbled that the hardworking people of this district have put their trust and confidence in me," Kleinjans said in a prepared statement after winning the vote.
"The voters of District 2 made it clear that they reject the chaos, fiscal irresponsibility, and disrespect for county employees that exemplify Lucy Ebel and Ottawa Impact's style of government, and I will work every day to turn that around."
Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., told Newsweek: "Democrats may take some satisfaction at the Republican defeat in Ottawa County, West Michigan, but the recall election drew just 20 percent of the county's voters to the polls, a little over 4,000 in total, and can hardly be taken as an indicator of which way the presidential votes will go come November.
"What's notable is that the failed Republican candidate is part of the ultra-conservative 'Ottawa Impact' group, which has been successful in gaining a number of elected roles across the county. Democrats will very much hope that such right-wing grassroot groups are losing their grip on voters, and that this trend continues all the way up the ballot. But one local election is hardly a satisfactory portent of that," Shanahan added.
What's Next?
Kleinjans will serve on the board for the remainder of 2024.
Then, Ebel and Kleinjans have both filed to run for a four-year term in the general election.
Meanwhile, the extent to which this election is indicative of what will happen in the presidential election remains to be seen. This will take place on November 5.

A special election with 4,000 votes has very little predictive value for the presidential election.

A special election with 4,000 votes has very little predictive value for the presidential election.

This. I hope this is a sign of things to come but this was a recall election with 20% turn out.

While it may not be reflective of the general populace or even the results of November, it does show that dems are fired up to go vote.

A special election with 4,000 votes has very little predictive value for the presidential election.

It's not "a" special election, it's a trend of them. Also, dems traditionally underperform in soecial elections and when turnout is low.

One special election doesn't. A series of them...

It's not "a" special election, it's a trend of them. Also, dems traditionally underperform in soecial elections and when turnout is low.

^This. But they'll ignore it and keep claiming this election swinging to a Dem means nothing.