Michigan Chief Justice Loses in Stunning Upset
The conservative chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court has lost a battle for re-election after an ad funded by the state Democratic Party accused him of falling asleep during a case, a charge he denied.
Chief Justice Clifford Taylor lost to challenger Diane Hathaway in a “stunning upset,” the Detroit Free Press reports. Taylor was designated the incumbent in a nonpartisan election, but the chief justice charged Democrats had politicized the contest.
The sleeping judge ad “wasn’t true, but it was a very compelling piece of political theater,” Taylor told the Detroit News.
Hathaway’s win changes a 5-2 Republican majority on the court to a slimmer 4-3 edge for the party, the Detroit News reports. Taylor is the first incumbent on the state supreme court to lose an election since 1984 and the first chief justice to lose since statehood, the story says.
