Politics

President Donald Trump did not ask Michigan Republican lawmakers to “break the law” or “interfere” with the election during a meeting at the White House, a legislative leader said Sunday, a day before canvassers plan to meet about whether to certify Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the battleground state. House Speaker Lee Chatfield was among seven GOP legislators who met with …

Michigan’s election agency on Friday recommended that the Nov. 3 results be certified next week by state canvassers, a decision that would bless Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump but likely not cool partisan strife over the vote. The recommendation was posted online with the formal Monday meeting notice of the Board of State Canvassers. The guidance came at …

President Donald Trump sought to leverage the power of the Oval Office on Friday in an extraordinary attempt to block President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, but his pleas to Michigan lawmakers to overturn the will of their constituents appeared to have left them unswayed. Trump summoned a delegation of the battleground state’s Republican leadership, including the Senate majority leader and House …

A Three Rivers resident will succeed Aaron Miller as 59th District State Representative. Republican Steve Carra topped Democratic challenger Amy East and write-in candidate Jack Coleman. Carra captured about two-thirds of the 27,000 votes cast in St. Joseph County for the two-year term.

A former Three Rivers City Commission member will represent the municipality and two adjacent townships as St. Joseph County District 1 commissioner. Jared Hoffmaster comfortably held off Andrew George to claim the two-year seat. The position, which is being vacated by Allen Balog, also includes representation of Flowerfield and Lockport townships. Hoffmaster collected about 1,400 more votes than George. No-party-affiliation …

Three positions in two townships featured contested races. In Mendon Township, longtime incumbent Mike Kline defeated challenger Gregory Allen in a race for supervisor. Kline won by a margin of 68 percent to 31 percent and will serve four additional years as Mendon Township’s supervisor. In Lockport Township, Christy Trammell captured nearly 59 percent of the vote for township clerk. …

Three Rivers Community Schools chose four people from a field of six candidates to its board of education. Newcomers Melissa Bliss and Ben Karle will join incumbents Julia Awe and Anne Riopel to six-year terms on the board. Meanwhile, incumbent Fred Barclay was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election to White Pigeon Community Schools Board of Education. Instead, Jeff Baechler …

Longtime Republican Rep. Fred Upton defeated a primary challenger in his district in southwestern Michigan. The 17-term lawmaker will take on Jon Hoadley in the general election. Upton beat real estate agent Elena Oelke in the 6th Congressional District’s GOP primary on Tuesday, by a margin of 63 to 37 percent. Hoadley, a state legislator, defeated Jen Richardson of Kalamazoo, …

St. Joseph County will have a new prosecutor starting in 2021. Lockport Township resident David Marvin claimed a one-sided victory over incumbent John McDonough during Tuesday’s primary election. Though final numbers have not been canvassed, Marvin’s unofficial win was by a 4-to-1 margin, as he claimed 82 percent of the votes. Marvin, the son of longtime St. Joseph County Clerk …

A Three Rivers resident is one step closer to replacing Aaron Miller for 59th District state representative. St. Joseph County numbers show Steve Carra finished atop the five-person race to replace the term-limited Miller. Carra claimed 34 percent of the vote in St. Joseph County, handily topping the second-highest vote getter, Jack Coleman, who earned 24 percent of the vote. …