The most important race in Michigan this year isn’t political

Being involved in campaigns for many years, I can tell you it’s not often I come across someone working a high-profile, top-ticket campaign who leaves to work for a down-ballot race—especially for judicial races. Yet in researching a story on upcoming state Supreme Court races, I came across Kyra Harris Bolden’s campaign manager, Holly Simon, who did exactly that. She even told the campaign that she would be open to a lower-level position if that was needed. “I knew then and I know now that there's no one more important for me to champion this cycle than Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden. [She] and her impact will genuinely affect justice in Michigan for generations, and I really wanted to be a part of that.”

After talking with Bolden, I understand the admiration. She is fairly young, but already at the top of her game. She has had a very successful legal career as an attorney (both public and private) before she was elected to serve in Michigan’s legislature. In her four years as a lawmaker, she has gotten multiple bills passed through the GOP-controlled state House—as a Democrat. After four short years in office, she was the lead candidate to become minority leader until Democratic leaders asked her to run for her party’s nomination to the Michigan Supreme Court. (Although the general election for the Michigan Supreme Court is nonpartisan, political parties nominate the candidates.)

In Michigan, and across the nation, Republicans are pushing unqualified extremists to state Supreme Court races in the hopes they will put their ideology over the law, even if it means overturning our freedoms and personal rights. Daily Kos is joining forces with Julia Louis-Dreyfus to endorse a slate of seven candidates running for state Supreme Court in three key states: Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio. Bolden is one of those candidates. Even though she is a brand-new mother (as in she delivered her baby on Aug. 15 and accepted the nomination on Aug. 21 of this year) who had a very safe House seat and promising political career, she just left it behind to run in this extremely risky, high-stakes race. Right now, the partisan make-up for the Michigan high court is 4-3 with a liberal majority, but a loss here would mean a dire blow to voting and human rights in Michigan.