Buss: Michigan GOP changes course for 2026 elections

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Michigan Republicans have turned a corner from a chaotic, divided recent past that cost them credibility, winnable statewide races and relevance to make electability the key focus of the 2026 elections.
With the selection of Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini for secretary of state and Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd for attorney general, the party appears to be signaling a long-overdue shift away from the grievances that drove its politics to competence that can succeed.
It’s a noticeable shift from the quality of candidates put up for those offices in 2022, and it is not accidental.
It’s precisely what needed to happen for the GOP to be competitive this fall — and it appears party activists and delegates took that mission seriously.
Forlini won a three-way race with 55% of the delegate vote, according to preliminary results, on the first round of voting. Lloyd won a two-man race with a resounding 63% in the first round.
That unity makes it easier for the GOP gubernatorial nominee, and their competency provides a buffer for that person and the Republican brand.
Republican primaries in the past awarded candidates that fed off the distrust of voters, which culminated in an unattractive message in the general election, regardless of its popularity with the party faithful.
The losses were decisive — and instructive.
Republicans seem to have learned a valuable lesson, putting credibility and qualifications first — and not a moment too soon.
November’s election will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity — with governor and other top statewide offices, the entire Legislature and an open U.S. Senate seat up for grabs — to reset Michigan’s economic and political trajectory.
Forlini and Lloyd represent a departure from Republicans’ self-defeating pattern.
Forlini is not easily boxed into the old narrative. As a county clerk, he has been willing to acknowledge concerns about election integrity and administration — including highlighting irregularities that deserve scrutiny — while still operating squarely within the system he oversees.
It’s an important balance, especially for the general election.
Lloyd brings a similar recalibration.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has weaponized the office, and past GOP contenders have argued back in the same fashion. Lloyd’s candidacy instead suggests a return to a more traditional understanding of the role — enforcing the law rather than redefining it.
That could be appealing against Democrats’ likely nominee, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who politicized her prosecution of the Crumbley family following the deadly 2021 shooting at Oxford High School.
There is at least a critical mass of Republican delegates that understands the change needed to happen now.
After years of losses in statewide races, and under Chairman Jim Runestad’s leadership, there is a growing recognition that winning primaries is not the same as winning elections.
That’s not to say everything structurally, financially and organizationally at the Michigan GOP is fixed. It would be premature to declare that it’s fully reset.
But the party has prioritized electable candidates — and rebuilding. These candidate choices signal seriousness to voters beyond its base.
If this approach holds, the implications extend beyond these two races.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Michigan Republicans than they are in 2026. But a party that can nominate candidates who appeal to both its base and the broader electorate is a party that can compete in Michigan again.
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