Democrat Kristy Burns won a contentious race for Leelanau County drain commissioner Tuesday, as Leelanau County got swept up in a statewide and nationwide “blue wave.” Liberal candidates clinched races up and down the ballot, giving Democrats key Michigan offices like governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, and securing blue majorities in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Below, the Leelanau Ticker takes a look at results and projections in numerous local, state, and national races as of press time early Wednesday morning.

National races

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic party’s candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, prevailed over Republican Mike Rogers, with CNN calling the race around 2:30am Wednesday morning.

As of 3:45am, with 92 percent of votes counted, El-Sayed had a 52/46 lead over Rogers, with other candidates accounting for the other 2 percent of the vote. The race had become arguably the most closely-watched Senate contest in the country, especially after Haley Stevens, El-Sayed’s rival in the August Democratic primary, broke ranks and endorsed Rogers this past weekend. El-Sayed’s victory is historic, as he will be the first-ever Muslim U.S. Senator. He succeeds Senator Gary Peters, a fellow Democrat who opted not to seek re-election after two six-year terms.

El-Sayed’s win was part of a banner election night for liberal Senate candidates, with Democrats clinching 54 seats in the chamber as of press time, compared to 44 for Republicans. Democrats flipped seven seats from red to blue to secure the majority, including victories in Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, North and South Carolina, and Maine. Two additional Senate races were too close to call as of early Wednesday morning: Alaska and Mississippi. In the latter, Democratic candidate Scott Colom held a razor-thin lead of just 43 votes over Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Democrats also secured control of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday, with 228 seats under Democrat control as of 3:45am, compared to 139 for Republicans; 74 races had yet to be called. Democrats flipped 25 House seats blue to win the majority – though Michigan’s first district was not among them. Incumbent Jack Bergman handily defeated Democratic challenger Callie Barr in a rematch of their 2024 race.

The nationwide blue wave is being interpreted as a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump and his second term in office, which began two years ago.

State races

Democrat Jocelyn Benson will become the 50th governor of Michigan, after beating GOP candidate John James by roughly 10 percentage points. Benson, who has served as Michigan’s secretary of state since January 2019, will succeed Gretchen Whitmer, a two-term Democratic governor.

Succeeding Benson, meanwhile, will be Whitmer’s lieutenant governor, Garlin Gilchrist, who bested Republican Anthony Forlini by a similar margin in the secretary of state race. Democrats will also retain control of the attorney general’s office, with liberal candidate Eli Savit topping Republican Doug Lloyd to take over for the outgoing Dana Nessel.

Locally, Leelanau County voters helped re-elect both Democrat Betsy Coffia (for State House District 103) and Republican John Damoose (for State Senate District 37). Leelanau voters also favored Benson over James (56 percent of the vote to 42), Gilchrist over Forlini (55/42), Savit over Lloyd (54/44), and El-Sayed over Rogers (54/44), but preferred Barr to Bergman (57/41).

Finally, voters across Michigan and in Leelanau County were decisive about both of statewide ballot measures, rejecting Proposal 1 (which would have convened a constitutional convention to rewrite the Michigan constitution) and approving Proposal 2 (a “money out of politics” measure that will prohibit campaign contributions “from certain regulated utilities and government contractors) by big margins.

Leelanau County races

Drain commissioner: Democrat Kristy Burns defeated Republican Melinda Lautner for a partial term as Leelanau County Drain Commissioner. Preliminary results showed Burns leading by just shy of 1,000 votes, with all precincts fully reporting. Tim Lodge, who ran for the role without party affiliation, finished a distant third with about 14.7 percent of the vote.

The drain commissioner role was left vacant earlier this year, after Republican Timothy O’Non – who won the job in November 2024 – resigned. Former County Administrator Chet Janik has been performing the responsibilities of the office on an interim basis since March. Recent issues with the Lake Bluffs Drain in Solon Township made the race one of the most closely watched contests in Leelanau County this election cycle.

Leland Township trustee: Republican Judith Ann Galla won a spot on the Leland Township Board of Trustees, with 588 votes to Democrat Brian Fenlon’s 447. Independent candidate Stacey Brugeman finished in third place, with 427 votes. Galla will fill the seat being vacated by trustee Greg Kuntz, who declined to seek re-election.

Not addressed by Tuesday’s election is the recent departure of Leland trustee Steve Scales, who tendered his resignation last month. Scales had been sued earlier this fall over alleged Open Meetings Act violations and residency issues. His seat will also now need to be filled, with his replacement to be named by Leland Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell, pending approval from the board.

Road commissioner: Republican Melvin Black will retain his seat on the Leelanau County Road Commission, after an uncontested race.

Northport leadership: Also securing re-election in uncontested races were Northport Village President Chris McCann and Northport Village Council members Laura Cavendish and Hugh Cook. With three seats up for grabs on the council, the 110 votes cast for write-in candidates will likely prove consequential, though the recipients of those votes are not specifically identified in Leelanau County’s preliminary election results.

Empire leadership: Empire Township Supervisor Kathy Wiejaczka and Township Clerk Julie Tarr, both Democrats, also won re-election in uncontested races. Democrats Christine Deucher and Elizabeth Wolterink, meanwhile, won the two up-for-grabs seats on the Empire Township Board of Trustees, beating Republican Casey Noonan. In the Village of Empire, Thomas Rademacher edged out Margaret Walton in the race for village president, winning 165 votes to 142. Rademacher will succeed the outgoing Daniel Davis.

Bingham Township leadership: Republican Mary Ann Korson, the township’s incumbent treasurer, and Republican Sandra Grant, a candidate for township trustee, both won uncontested races.

Village of Suttons Bay: Karl Bahle, Rich Hylwa, and Dillon Newcomb all won terms on the village Board of Trustees.

Northport Mill Pond Dam replacement millage: Northport voters decisively rejected this proposal, which would have allowed the Village of Northport to levy 1.24 mills ($1.24 per $1,000 of taxable property value) “to provide funds for the replacement and reconstruction of Mill Pond Dam and related improvements.” Per ballot language, the millage was estimated to raise about $103,000 in funds in its first year. 78 percent of voters voted against the millage.

Leelanau Township millages: A pair of millages in Leelanau Township earned a more positive reception, with voters approving both a roads millage and a parks and facilities millage. The roads millage is estimated to raise $186,902 in its first year, while the parks and facilities measure will generate an estimated $311,503. Both measures passed with more than 60 percent of the vote.

BATA millage renewal: This measure also passed with a comfortable margin, including 63 percent approval from Leelanau County voters.

School board races

Traverse City Area Public Schools: As of 3:45am Wednesday morning, candidates Sara Bageris, Scott Hardy, Diane Arnold, and Beth Pack looked likely to win the four open seats on the TCAPS board. Bageris, Hardy, and Pack are all incumbents, and Bageris, Hardy, and Arnold had substantial leads over the rest of the field with more precincts still to report in Grand Traverse County. Pack held a significantly smaller margin over fifth-place contender Dee Zuidersma.

Glen Lake Community Schools: Brooke Hazael-Massieux won a seat in an uncontested race.

Leland Public School: Mary Fleishman and Heidi Kruse, the only two candidates running for two open seats, secured four-year terms.

Northport Public School: Eric Potes and Daniel Duffiney will serve six-year terms, while Kali Dignan won a partial term ending December 31, 2028.

Suttons Bay Public Schools: Chris D. DeJong, Dillon Newcomb, and James White won four-year terms, while Gregory Gurka will also serve a partial term ending December 31, 2028.

Voter turnout

Based on preliminary results, Leelanau County saw 16,256 from its pool of 22,104 registered voters, good for a turnout of 74 percent. That’s more ballots – but a slimmer turnout rate – than the 2024 presidential election, when Leelanau had 20,094 registered voters and 15,716 of them cast ballots, a 78 percent voter turnout.