Paul Egan

Detroit Free Press

LANSING — The election for Michigan's Supreme Court — once one of the stormiest items on the state's general election ballot — is barely making a ripple as Nov. 8 approaches.

Estimated spending on elections for Michigan's high court peaked at $18.4 million in 2012 before dipping to $10.4 million in 2014. This year, that spending number is expected to drop again.

There is more than one reason why the judicial election is less contentious and hard-fought.

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Republican-nominated justices hold a 5-2 majority on the court. Democrats see much better chances of taking control of the state House than the Supreme Court, and that's affecting spending decisions. Also, neither Brandon Dillon, the current Michigan Democratic Party chairman, nor Lon Johnson, his predecessor, have given Supreme Court races the high priority they received from longtime party chairman Mark Brewer, who left office in 2013.

"The party decided that the Supreme Court race was not going to be a priority and has acted accordingly," said Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas, who is nominated by the Democrats and was also on the ballot in 2014.

Thomas said she senses increased grassroots enthusiasm and is making up for the lack of official party support. But while Democrats are hoping Republican unhappiness with presidential nominee Donald Trump will help Democrats in down-ballot races such as the state House, and are celebrating a court victory over Republican efforts to end straight-party voting in Michigan, the Supreme Court race is on the nonpartisan portion of the ballot where Thomas is less likely to benefit from any increased Democratic Party fortunes.

Justice David Viviano, a Republican-nominated justice who is running for a full eight-year term, agrees "it's been a little quieter this cycle than in the past," but noted the court itself has been much quieter and less strife-filled than it was prior to 2010.

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"I think that the court has been less partisan," and "we're setting a better tone of collegiality," Viviano said.

"There's been some good things happening. That may be a reflection of why people aren't so anxious to replace us. It might just be that we are doing a good job."

Wayne County Circuit Judge Frank Szymanski, who handles family and juvenile courts, said it's setting a "pretty low bar" to applaud Supreme Court justices for not being at each other's throats.

Though overall spending is down, both the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Viviano and Larsen campaigns have run TV ads in favor of the Republican-nominated candidates. On the other side, the Oakland County Democratic Party produced a digital ad that attempts to tie the Supreme Court election to the Flint water crisis, saying the lead contamination showed poor judgment by Gov. Rick Snyder and therefore voters shouldn't endorse his "hand-picked" choices for the high court.

"I don't have much money," said Szymanski, who is running against Viviano. "My opponent is loaded. He's carpet-bombing the airwaves with ads."

"Why are these special interest groups ... putting money behind getting him elected, as opposed to someone like myself or Judge Thomas? Why is it so valuable to them?"

Szymanski had raised just over $26,000 and spent less than $10,000 as of Oct. 23, leaving him with close to $17,000 in the bank, according to a campaign finance report filed Friday. The biggest donors to his campaign were unions and attorneys.

Viviano, by contrast, had raised about $894,000 and spent about $840,000, leaving him with about $87,000 in the bank. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce and groups representing bankers, realtors, farmers and the health care industry were among Viviano's biggest donors.

Viviano has said his actions on the bench are not swayed by who funds his campaign. "I'm running on independence," he said. "I'm running on rule of law."

In the other race, Thomas is challenging Justice Joan Larsen for a partial term on the court, ending Jan. 1, 2019.

Larsen was appointed to the bench by Snyder in 2015 after serving as a law professor and legal adviser to the dean at the University of Michigan. She earlier worked at the U.S. Justice Department and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died suddenly in February.

Larsen said she learned two main things from Scalia. One was "a firm commitment to getting the law right," which meant both attention to detail and reading the law for its plain meaning, she said. But Scalia, known for his sharply worded dissents, also got along great with his Supreme Court colleagues and taught her the importance of collegiality, she said.

Thomas, a Wayne County judge for 21 years, said she would bring much more judicial experience to the court than Larsen, as well as needed diversity.

"I'm very concerned about the fact that of the seven justices who are on the Supreme Court, none of them lives, works, plays and prays in an urban city," said Thomas, who lives in Detroit, where she was born and raised.

Two third-party candidates are also in the judicial race.

Doug Dern, an attorney from Highland Township, is running against Viviano from the Natural Law Party. He wants to put greater emphasis on individual rights and less emphasis on the rights of police.

"A lot of our Fourth Amendment rights have been stripped away," Dern said.

Kerry Morgan, an attorney from Redford Township, is running against Larsen from the Libertarian Party.

Morgan said he wants to give voters greater choice beyond the two main parties.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.