Republican Doug Lloyd runs on cash bail and a ‘boring’ attorney general’s office against Democrat Eli Savit

LANSING — Michigan will have a new attorney general in January for the first time since 2019. Democrat Dana Nessel is term-limited, and the Nov. 3 ballot pits two county prosecutors with very different records against each other: Republican Doug Lloyd of Eaton County and Democrat Eli Savit of Washtenaw County. Four minor-party candidates are also on the official list: Libertarian Jason Dye, U.S. Taxpayers candidate John Perry Ludtke Jr., Green Jeff Polonowski and Natural Law candidate Doug Dern, according to the Michigan Bureau of Elections.

Lloyd: a ‘boring’ office. Lloyd has been Eaton County prosecutor since 2013 and says he has more than 30 years of experience as a prosecutor. He told Bridge Michigan in an Oct. 6 profile that he wants to make the attorney general’s office less political. “When I looked around at the people who were getting in (the race for attorney general), all I saw was eight more years of partisanship, and that to me was like ‘enough’s enough,’” he said. “That’s not what the attorney general’s supposed to do.” Lloyd argues Nessel politicized the office with failed prosecutions over the Flint water crisis and the 2020 Republican “false electors,” a charge Nessel disputes. He still uses cash bail to make sure suspects return to court, supports repealing the state’s red-flag gun law and wants the Legislature to pass a “constitutional carry” law allowing concealed carry without a permit, Bridge reported. His campaign lists four priorities, including prosecuting “fairly, without political favor or bias” and standing “firmly against political lawfare and weaponized prosecutions.”

Law enforcement backing. Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad told Bridge that 61 county prosecutors and 29 county sheriffs have endorsed Lloyd. The Police Officers Association of Michigan backed him in September, and the Detroit Regional Chamber PAC has also endorsed him. “They don’t bother to talk about the murder convictions I’ve had, where people sit in prison for the rest of their life,” Lloyd said of his critics.

Savit’s record is the GOP’s target. Savit, first elected in 2020, stopped seeking cash bail in Washtenaw County, decriminalized psychedelic drugs and declines to prosecute some low-level offenses, including consensual sex work. Lloyd has called those policies “soft on crime” and the sex work policy “foolish.” At the candidates’ Sept. 27 debate on WDIV Local 4, Savit said the approach lets his office focus on serious cases. “We put bad guys behind bars,” he said. “We prosecute serious crimes. And we do provide rehabilitative options.” He pointed to lower gun deaths and a long stretch without homicides in the county, EUP News reported. Savit has told Bridge he would not take his sex work policy statewide. In April, the U.S. Justice Department sued Washtenaw County officials, including Savit, over a 2021 directive telling prosecutors to weigh immigration consequences in charging and plea decisions; federal Judge F. Kay Behm dismissed the case on Aug. 21, ruling the county acted within its Tenth Amendment authority, Michigan News Source reported. Savit’s office said the directives were meant to build trust with immigrant communities.

Line 5 and energy. The debate’s sharpest split was over the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. Savit called a federal court ruling that left regulation of the pipeline to the federal government “disastrous” and said he would fight it. Lloyd said he would not keep up the state’s litigation, calling it “political activism,” and said trucking the oil across the Mackinac Bridge would be riskier. “The people in the Upper Peninsula need to know that they’re going to be able to heat their homes. They worry about this every day,” he said. Both candidates said they oppose utility rate hikes and want more transparency in data center deals.

The attacks on Lloyd. The Democratic Attorneys General Association has run online ads over a plea deal Lloyd’s office reached with former Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher, who pleaded guilty after a 2024 sheriff’s sting and was sentenced to probation. Lloyd told Bridge that no meeting ever took place, which limited his chances at trial, and said at the debate the ads show national groups “don’t actually understand the criminal justice system.” Democrats also point to his handling of a 2013 complaint against former USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert and to Detroit Free Press reporting on a personal contractor dispute; Lloyd has defended his decisions in both and said an investigator who helped in the dispute acted as a friend, not in an official role.

A close race, a money gap. A Glengariff Group poll for The Detroit News and WDIV taken Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 found Savit at 36% and Lloyd at 35%, with 29% undecided and a margin of error of 4 points. Savit had about $1.03 million on hand in his August campaign finance report, compared with about $225,000 for Lloyd, according to state filings compiled by Wikipedia. Savit is endorsed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the UAW, the Michigan Education Association and the Detroit Free Press editorial board. Republicans lost every statewide office in 2022, including the attorney general’s race by more than 370,000 votes, Bridge noted.

Also on the statewide ballot. Voters will also choose a secretary of state, where Republican Anthony Forlini faces Democrat Garlin Gilchrist II, and decide the governor’s race, where Republican John James is pitching an income tax cut against Democrat Jocelyn Benson, the Michigan Supreme Court race, Proposal 1 on calling a constitutional convention and Proposal 2 on utility and contractor campaign donations.

How to vote. Monday, Oct. 19, was the last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that, residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Statewide early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1; check with your city or township clerk for early voting sites and hours. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 30 by mail or online, or by 4 p.m. Nov. 2 in person at the clerk’s office. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvasses must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers certifies statewide results by Nov. 23. Voters can check their registration and see their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026: The Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, so the voting details now say so. Residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Sources:
Michigan Bureau of Elections, 2026 November General Election candidate listing (Attorney General, Secretary of State), https://mi-boe.entellitrak.com/etk-mi-boe-prod/page.request.do?electionType=GEN&electionYear=2026&page=page.miboePublicReport
Bridge Michigan, Jordyn Hermani, “Doug Lloyd wants to make the Michigan attorney general’s office boring again,” Oct. 6, 2026, https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/doug-lloyd-wants-to-make-the-michigan-attorney-generals-office-boring-again/
EUP News, “Attorney General debate centers on Line 5 arguments, attacks on record,” Sept. 28, 2026, https://www.eupnews.com/2026/09/attorney-general-debate-centers-on-line-5-arguments-attacks-on-record/
Michigan News Source, J.P. Isbell, “DOJ Scrutiny Puts Democratic AG Candidate Eli Savit’s Immigration Policies Back in Spotlight,” Sept. 29, 2026, https://www.michigannewssource.com/2026/09/doj-scrutiny-puts-democratic-ag-candidate-eli-savits-immigration-policies-back-in-spotlight/
WDIV Local 4, “Flashpoint Sept. 27, 2026: AG candidates Doug Lloyd and Eli Savit face off on key issues,” Sept. 28, 2026, https://www.clickondetroit.com/video/flashpoint/2026/09/28/flashpoint-sept-27-2026-ag-candidates-doug-lloyd-and-eli-savit-face-off-on-key-issues/
Doug Lloyd for MI Attorney General, campaign priorities, https://www.votedouglloyd.com/
Wikipedia, “2026 Michigan Attorney General election” (endorsements, Glengariff Group/Detroit News poll and Secretary of State campaign finance figures, cross-check), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Michigan_Attorney_General_election
Michigan Department of State, “Absentee voting” and election calendar (registration, early voting and absentee deadlines), https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/absentee-voting
Photo: PA Uploader, “G. Mennen Williams State Office Building.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), cropped and resized, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:G._Mennen_Williams_State_Office_Building.jpg

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