The 2020 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent Michigan. It was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
This race was one of two Democratic-held U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2020 in a state Donald Trump won in 2016. The primary was held on August 4.
The filing deadline for candidates to run in the primary was April 21, but this was extended to May 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The election was considered a potential upset pickup by the Republicans due to the state's demographic trends, Donald Trump's upset win in 2016, and Republican candidate John James exceeding expectations in the 2018 election.
Peters won election to a second term, though by a much closer margin than expected. James, who outperformed Trump on the same ballot, initially refused to concede, baselessly claiming in a statement published to his campaign website two days after the election that he had been "cheated" out of winning the election. The statement alleged that there were "deep concerns that millions of Michiganders may have been disenfranchised by a dishonest few who cheat." On November 24, James conceded the race exactly three weeks after election day. With a margin of 1.68%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2020 Senate election cycle, behind only the regularly-scheduled election in Georgia.
The following poll assumes neither Republican candidate would withdraw after their primary. with Bob Carr and John James<br />
with Bill Schuette<br />
with Gary Peters and Generic Republican<br />
with Gary Peters and Generic Opponent<br />
with Generic Democrat and Generic Republican<br />
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican<br />
Despite losing the state, James won eight of 14 congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.
Polls indicated that the race would be close, with Peters leading in most polls. In 2018, Michigan voters approved "no reason required" absentee balloting. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a record number of absentee voters. Michigan law at that time did not allow for early tabulating of absentee ballots, so the absentee ballots were tabulated after completing the tabulating of ballots from polling places. This created a "mirage" effect because more Republicans voted on election day, and more Democrats voted by absentee ballot. James was ahead when the counting of election day ballots was completed. When the absentee ballots were tabulated, and with 98% of the votes counted, Peters was declared the winner by a tight margin of one percentage point after a day of waiting. When the results were certified on November 23, Peters' margin of victory was 1.68%.
Peters was able to win re-election by running up a big margin in Wayne County, home of Detroit, winning over 67% of the vote there. He also managed to improve his performance in the reliably Democratic Washtenaw County, home of Ann Arbor, improving on his 2014 election by almost three percentage points. He also came within just 1,139 votes of winning Kent County, home of Grand Rapids, having lost the county by over eight percentage points six years prior. Peters was sworn in for his second term on January 3, 2021. His term will expire on January 3, 2027.
African-Americans in Detroit were a major demographic contributing to Peters winning the election. James would later be elected as a representative in Michigan's 10th congressional district in 2022.
After Peters took the lead in the election on the 4th, James refused to concede the race. The following day, James claimed that he had been cheated out of winning the election in a statement published on his campaign website. The statement said that there were "[...] deep concerns that millions of Michiganders may have been disenfranchised by a dishonest few who cheat" and that "[...] there is enough credible evidence to warrant an investigation to ensure that elections were conducted in a transparent, legal and fair manner." A lawyer for James' campaign alleged that fraud was committed at the TCF Center, which the Trump campaign had also attempted to claim in a dismissed lawsuit. James conceded the election to Peters on November 24.
Partisan clients<br />
Official campaign websites