President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and eight others will officially appear on the ballot for Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary election.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released the list of qualifying candidates on Nov. 13. State law requires the list to include “individuals generally advocated by the national news media to be potential presidential candidates” for the Democratic and Republican parties.
Along with Biden, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson are running on the Democratic ticket.
In addition to Trump, the GOP presidential candidates are: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Three Republicans – former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson – dropped out of the race after their campaigns failed to gain traction.
Biden and Trump are the frontrunners in Michigan’s primary election, which will take place on Feb. 27. The Michigan Republican Party may end up assigning most of its presidential primary delegates in a closed caucus meeting on March 2, but the Republican National Committee has yet to approve the plan. In the 2020 presidential election, Biden beat Trump to win Michigan with 51% of the vote.
Trump opponents unsuccessfully sued Benson in her official capacity as secretary of state to keep Trump off the ballot. They argued that Trump incited a riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, violating the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says that individuals are barred from holding office if they have “engaged in insurrection.”
Trump’s lawyers argued Benson does not have the authority to keep him off the ballot. Benson herself has said the secretary of state does not have the power to determine candidate eligibility under Michigan’s election laws.
“Barring a court order, these candidates will be included on Michigan’s presidential primary ballot in 2024 unless they withdraw their names from consideration,” Benson said in a press release on Monday. Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford ruled Nov. 14 that Trump’s name can appear on the primary ballot because the matter is a political issue, which is not for the courts to decide, according to NPR affiliate WDET. The plaintiffs plan to appeal the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court, according to the news station.
