LANSING – Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II secured a decisive victory in Tuesday’s secretary of state election, defeating Republican opponent Anthony Forlini by 10 percentage points and keeping the pivotal office under Democratic control for another four years.

According to unofficial results following the vote count, Gilchrist received approximately 53.7 percent of the vote, compared with 43.6 percent for Forlini, who currently serves as Macomb County clerk/register of deeds..

Gilchrist will succeed fellow Democrat Jocelyn Benson, who won Tuesday’s gubernatorial election.

The secretary of state’s office, through its 131 branches across Michigan, issues driver’s licenses and identification cards, handles vehicle registrations and oversees elections in the battleground state.

In his victory speech in Detroit, Gilchrist expressed pride in earning voters’ confidence.

“I am very excited to serve you as Michigan’s next secretary of state, to ensure that the people of Michigan preserve and expand the right to vote, and can vote confidently and freely, without intimidation or federal interference,” he said.

He warmly thanked the grassroots movement and volunteers who supported his campaign, pledging to remove “dark and dirty corporate money” from politics. His campaign did not accept contributions from corporate political action committees.

Gilchrist, who received nearly 2.54 million votes, described the secretary of state’s office as “the starting point” for protecting democracy.

Forlini issued a statement congratulating Gilchrist, affirming his respect for voters’ choices and expressing his willingness to work closely with the secretary of state-elect from his county position.

Gilchrist became the first African American elected lieutenant governor of Michigan in 2018 and was reelected alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

With his victory over Forlini, Gilchrist will become the second Black man to serve as Michigan’s secretary of state, following Democrat Richard Austin, who held the office from 1971 to 1995.