With 83% of precincts reporting, Republican challenger John James wa leading Democratic Sen. Gary Peters for 24 hours after Election Day, despite polls before the race giving Peters a clear edge to retain his own seat.
UPDATE: Peters was declared the winner late on Wednesday by a narrow margin.
The Senate election comes to a nail-biting finish as the presidential election still hangs in the balance ... and Michigan is pivotal in both.
See complete Michigan election results HERE. If the momentum continued for James, the Iraq War veteran would be the first Black man elected to represent Michigan in the Senate. Peters pulled ahead strongly late on Election Day, but the gap narrowed as more ballots were counted Wednesday.
With multiple Senate races across the country in flux, the Peters-James race could decide whether Republicans keep control of the Senate -- or Democrats win the majority. Both candidates spent an estimated $100 million in their bid for the seat, making it the most expensive Senate race in Michigan history.
“There’s still a lot of votes to be counted, to be sure. But we’re extremely excited and optimistic about where we stand right now," James told supporters on Election night, according to WOOD-TV. Peters said, "“A number of jurisdictions are still processing this massive amount of absentee ballots. … Stay tuned.”
While the Republican leads in the national race to represent Michigan, in state races it also appears Republicans will hold on to a couple of seats that the Democrats were hoping to flip. Votes are still being tallied in Oakland County,
With 86% of the vote in, Republican Chase Turner of Northville is leading Kelly Breen by about 5,000 votes in the 38th District House race. Incumbent Ryan Berman is leading Julia Pulver by about 6,000 votes in the 39th District which includes West Bloomfield and Commerce Township. In the 45th District, which includes Rochester and Rochester Hills, Republican Mark Tisdel is leading Barb Anness by about 2,000 votes with votes in eight precincts still to be counted.
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One other note, former gubanatorial candidate Shri Thanadar appears to be heading to Lansing as a state representative. Thanadar has a large lead in the Third House District, which is on Detroit's east side.