DETROIT — Michigan Democrats endorsed two top candidates on Saturday, April 17 at their first-ever endorsement convention in Detroit, backing hopefuls for secretary of state and attorney general positions.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton

The party is still divided over which candidate to choose for what should be a hotly contested governor’s race.The secretary of state nomination at the convention went to Jocelyn Benson, a Wayne State University law professor who took down Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey with 95 percent of the vote from the 2,000 activists who attended the Cobo Center convention.The race for attorney general was much closer, however, as Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton claimed a close victory over Birmingham Attorney Richard Bernstein, son of well-known attorney Sam Bernstein.Leyton used his support from major labor unions to hold off the challenger Bernstein, who was endorsed by the Michigan Education Association and the Teamsters.The nominations were not official, but both Winfrey and Bernstein agreed to step aside in order to allow the winners to focus on defeating their opponents in the November election and to prevent potential divisiveness within the party.

Wayne State University law professor Jocelyn Benson

A Sunday morning forum featuring the three main Democratic hopefuls for governor, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, House Speaker Andy Dillon, and long-time Salem Twp. lawmaker Alma Wheeler Smith became a bit contentious as Bernero said Dillon was a part of the problem in Lansing, according to The Detroit News.Dillon chose not to get into a war of words with Bernero but took the time to defend himself in front of fellow party members.Most of those in attendance deemed the endorsement convention a success, however, saying that it gives candidates the jump on raising funds for November’s race.In past elections, candidates were forced to wait until August to see where they stood in the race, which made it difficult to make decisions relating to their campaigns.The Michigan Republican Convention is expected to take place on August 28 during which the party will nominate its candidates for top posts.