For the first time since 2000, the 8th District will be represented by a Democrat after Elissa Slotkin pulled out a close win over incumbent Republican Mike Bishop. Speaking to supporters this morning in Rochester, Bishop conceded he had the lost the seat he had held since 2014.

It was a close win, within the margin of error in polling leading up to the election and Slotkin thanked her supporters for the upset, saying "this is what happens when you set a goal and you stay focused and you believe in this country." Bishop easily won in Livingston County, out-polling Slotkin by nearly 20,000 votes. He also won in Oakland County by 14,000 votes. But that was more than made up for in Ingham County, where Slotkin beat Bishop by a 40,000 vote margin. The final results with 100% of precincts reporting was Slotkin with 172,878 votes (51%) and Bishop with 159,804 votes (47%).

Despite the win, Democrats in Livingston County were still unsuccessful in breaking the GOP hold as both incumbent Hank Vaupel and Ann Bollin won their respective House seats handily. Vaupel defeated Democratic challenger Colleen Turk, 62 - 31%. Vaupel said while economy and jobs were the top priority, "health care, the cost of health care, mental health care and the opioid issue is something we really want to concentrate on." Turk thanked her supporters and congratulated Vaupel on his win, saying, "Running to represent the 47th District while working a full-time job was not easy, but getting out into the community and making face-to-face connections with voters was so worth it. I look forward to continuing to build connections among community members and educating citizens on the truth about what's happening in our government.”

Democrat Mona Shand, who lost to Bollin by 56 to 37% for the 42nd State House seat, remained upbeat in defeat and thanked her supporters. "I'm incredibly proud of the grassroots campaign that we ran. We had such a great response from people all across the political spectrum. We had so many volunteers, so many people really connecting with the message we had of positive change for this area and for our state."

Republicans also retained their lock on the county board of commissioners, easily winning all of the contested races there.

Meanwhile, in the contentious race for a new seat on the 44th Circuit Court, 53rd District Court Judge Suzanne Geddis narrowly defeated Dennis Brewer, with a less than 2% lead; 39.31% to 37.71%. That term will be for eight years.

Lana Theis was successful in her bid to become a State Senator, winning the race for the 22nd District over Democrat Adam Dreher 59 - 33%. Green party candidate Eric Borregard picked up just over 2% in that race. Theis told WHMI what her priority would be in her new position. "Auto no-fault reform, auto no-fault reform and auto no-fault reform. We need to fix this. I think this is one of the biggest things that is holding Michigan back and I think its something that's absolutely solvable. To that effort, I am looking forward to making that happen."

The vote for a Headlee Override in the City of Howell was resoundingly defeated, 55 - 38%. A similar measure in the Village of Pinckney was also defeated, 53 - 40%. A Sinking Fund millage in the Howell Public Schools District lost by just 28 votes.

In school board races, Ken Stahl was re-elected to the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education along with newcomers Angela Krebs and Laura Mitchell. In Howell, incumbents Brent Earl and Grace Trudell also won re-election along with newcomer Christy Conn. In Pinckney, Amanda Mortenson and Melissa Mueller were elected to the school board, while in Fowlerville, Trish Reed, John Belcher and Steve Frederick were the winners.

Complete Livingston County unofficial election results can be found through the link below. (JK)