Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum running to be Michigan's secretary of state
Lansing — Democrat Barb Byrum, Ingham County's clerk and a former state representative, announced Wednesday that she'll run to be Michigan's next secretary of state in 2026.
Byrum, 47, of Onondaga, said in an interview with The Detroit News that Michigan needs a secretary of state with on-the-ground experience. She's administered 40 elections in her 12 years as clerk in Ingham County, she said.
"At the end of the day ... I believe our democracy is worth fighting for," Byrum said, when asked about campaigning to be the top election official in a battleground state amid increased scrutiny of how votes are cast and counted.
In 2014, Byrum performed what's been called the first same-sex wedding ceremony in Michigan after a district court judge deemed the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. And after the 2020 presidential election, she gained a following on social media responding to criticisms and false claims about the state's voting system.
Her entrance into the secretary of state race adds a well-known name in Democratic politics. She'll compete for the Democratic nomination with Aghogho Edevbie, Michigan's current deputy secretary of state, who launched his campaign in January and released a list of new endorsements, including from 13 Democratic state lawmakers, on Tuesday afternoon.
Michigan Democrats will likely pick their nominee at a convention early next year.
Edevbie works under current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who can't seek reelection because of Michigan's term limits and who is running for governor in 2026. Benson won her second and final four-year term as secretary of state in 2022 by defeating Republican Kristina Karamo of Oak Park, 56%-42%.
So far, no Republicans have announced plans to run for secretary of state in 2026.
Meghan Reckling, former chairwoman of the Livingston County Republican Party, labeled Byrum "a serious contender" for the secretary of state position but also "more radical than Benson."
"Her family’s been entrenched in Democrat politics for decades, and she’s been laying the groundwork for this run for well over 10 years," Reckling wrote in a post on X of Byrum.
Barb Byrum is the daughter of Dianne Byrum, a former state representative, former U.S. House candidate and former member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.
Barb Byrum owned a hardware store in Ingham County, named Byrum Hardware, before being elected to the Michigan House in 2006. She served three two-year terms in the House and was elected clerk in Ingham County — a Democratic-leaning county that features the City of Lansing — in 2012.
"I am committed to serving the people of Michigan and providing them with excellent customer service," Byrum told The News on Tuesday of her priorities as secretary of state.
In recent weeks, Benson has faced criticism because of her office's effort to overhaul the state portal that has previously allowed the public to research the flow of money from donors to Michigan officeholders. The new website has interrupted access to campaigns' fundraising reports and occasionally prevented searches of contributions by a donor's name, their employer or the amount they gave.
More: Jocelyn Benson's office pauses payments on problem-plagued transparency website
If Byrum had been secretary of state for the project, she said she would have kept the old campaign finance portal live and available until the new system worked properly.
She has spoken out against a potential ballot proposal to require those registering to vote in Michigan to prove they are U.S. citizens by providing a birth certificate, passport or some other document to verify their citizenship.
Byrum has said the proposal would make "voter registration unnecessarily difficult and very costly."
"It creates more barriers for citizens," Byrum said.
Supporters of the proposal have contended that it is necessary to ensure that only U.S. citizens cast ballots in Michigan's elections.
“This is a no-brainer," state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, said previously. "Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections."
Byrum said if there's a concern about a non-U.S. citizen voting, that information should be brought to law enforcement to investigate.
A months-long review by the Michigan Secretary of State's office identified 15 individuals who allegedly are not U.S. citizens but still cast ballots in the November presidential election. The 15 people were in addition to the University of Michigan student from China, Haoxiang Gao, who allegedly voted illegally in Washtenaw County in October.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum running to be Michigan's secretary of state
