Kathleen Gray | Detroit Free Press

In a unprecedented blow to organized labor, Plymouth attorney Dana Nessel won the endorsement for her bid for state attorney general from Democrats at a day-long convention Sunday.

She overcame a nearly unified group of organized labor, led by the United Auto Workers, that had endorsed former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Pat Miles of Grand Rapids.

But Nessel had forged a coalition of progressive activists, marijuana supporters and Democrats energized to join the party after the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016.

After nearly 10 hours of speeches and voting at Cobo Center, the 6,704 credentialed Democrats gave Nessel a victory. The energy all day had been with Nessel as the crowd continually shouted her name, gave her standing ovations and waved signs carrying her name.

"I think the Democratic Party was ready for a more unconventional candidate and race," said Nessel, who will be the first openly gay candidate to run for statewide office. "I was really excited to get so many new members signed up. There's a lot of enthusiasm for the party in a way that we haven't seen it for while."

Brittany Greeson, Special to the Free Press

Nessel's mother-in-law Mary Maguire, the president of the Plymouth Democratic Club, nominated Nessel, saying, "Dana always has been a relentless fighter for justice. She poured her heart and soul into the DeBoer case," referring to the one of the cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in a validation of same sex marriage.

"Having beaten Bill Schuette and Rick Snyder on this landmark case, she understood the power an attorney general can have," Maguire added.

Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade nominated Miles for the attorney general endorsement and said he has a leg up because he's already gone through a thorough vetting after being nominated for the Western Michigan U.S. Attorney slot by former President Barack Obama.

"He had to go through a rigorous background investigation by the FBI and if they couldn’t find any dirt on him, neither will the Republicans," she said.

But Miles conceded the race to Nessel, before the final vote was announced and urged his supporters to back Nessel.

"I will fully support the Democratic ticket in the fall," he said. "We need to take the state back for the Demoratic party. We need to unify the party."

The vote marked the end of dominance of Democratic Party politics by the UAW, which for decades had been the deciding factor for candidates seeking the union's endorsement. With dwindling union numbers - which have declined by 2.9 million members since the mid 1980s - the endorsement of the UAW or AFL-CIO isn't as consequential as it once was.

"Whether or not the leadership of some of the unions supported me, I support unions in this state. I support workers," Nessel said. "I hope they'll support me as well in November."

Brittany Greeson, Special to the Free Press

There was an enormous amount of energy in the crowd of more than 6,700 people, which is a far cry from the 700 people who showed up for the endorsement convention in 2010, said Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon.

“This is huge, even with the bad weather across the state,” he said. “There’s just such a real enthusiasm that people are chomping at the bit to do something.

We’ve seen it since Trump got elected. But the challenge is to make sure that energy is channeled into the right activities,” Dillon added. “It’s kind of like plutonium. It can be used for peaceful means or can be used to arm a nuclear warhead.”

Most of the energy was directed at the only real race at the convention between Nessel and Miles. The two ran from room to room, making their case to the different constituency caucuses. William Noakes, a Detroit attorney, who had filed to become a candidate for attorney general, didn't get the required signatures -- about 500 -- needed on Sunday to be considered for the endorsement.

At the Women’s Caucus, Nessel said she keeps hearing that there could be too many women on the ticket, if former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer wins the nomination for Governor and Jocelyn Benson gets the nod for Secretary of State.

“You know what I say to that? Screw that noise,” she said. “More than ever, we need an attorney general who is willing to protect women in this state … We need to put as many women as possible on the Democratic ticket.”

Miles said he would vow to fight the agenda of President of Donald Trump on issue after issue.

“I’m a fighter and I’m ready to fight for you,” he said.

The race became a proxy for the fight between the traditional power brokers of the party – organized labor and African American constituencies – and the far left wing of the party.

At the Progressive Caucus, which has endorsed Nessel and former Detroit Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed for Governor, retired Ann Arbor businessman Shri Thanedar tried to talk to the group. And even though he bills himself as the most progressive candidate in the race for Governor, he was refused the chance to speak and escorted out of the room amid chants from the caucus of “Abdul, Abdul!”

The labor caucus officially endorsed Miles and Whitmer, with United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams proclaiming that the labor movement has been at the forefront of the progressive movement for decades.

“Today, we’re under attack like never before. Not just in Michigan, but across the country,” he said. “It’s time for labor to raise for our heads, march in the streets and say an injustice for one is an injustice for all.”

Despite the extraordinary amount of participation at the convention, the crowd was warned that unless the factions can come together, they will lose in November. The worry was warranted as the race for attorney general became increasingly contentious in the last few weeks, with both Miles’ and Nessel’s campaign hurling insults and negative taunts at each other.

“The only thing that could stop us from doing what we need to do, is if we are not united. We have vigorous primaries, and we should. We’re going to have a vigorous campaign today. But in November, we all have to be united as Democrats,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township. “We can’t say, 'My candidate didn’t win, they’re not progressive enough,' or 'They’re too progressive.' Enough is enough! We have to be united or we will not win.”

And U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said she hated to be a “Debbie Downer, but everybody is talking about this blue wave. It’s not going to happen if we let complacency settle in.

“If you stay home, we’re going to have six years of what we have right now and that should scare the hell out of everybody,” she added.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans warned the crowd to calm down.

"The only thing that will stop us is if we get petty with each other. If your candidate wins or doesn’t, take a chill pill. All of our candidates are better than any of theirs," he said.

Also getting endorsements at the convention were: Supreme Court candidates Megan Cavanagh and University of Michigan law professor Sam Bagenstos and Benson for Secretary of State. The endorsements won't become official, however until the party's summer convention in August.