Michigan sees record voter turnout for the 2026 midterms

More than 4.8 million Michigan voters cast a ballot in the 2026 midterm elections, according to unofficial results, up from 4.5 million in the 2022 midterms.

It’s a midterm record and in line with expectations following the “blow your socks off turnout” from the August primary, said Corwin Smidt, associate professor of political science at Michigan State University.

In Dearborn, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud announced that the city had hit a historic number of voters. More than 45,400 voters cast a ballot there, according to unofficial city results, surpassing even the 2024 presidential election. Presidential election turnout is generally higher than other elections.

In Detroit, City Clerk Janice Winfrey announced that 209,924 people voted. That’s less than the 247,770 voters in 2024 when the presidency was on the ballot but up from the 173,325 voters in the 2022 midterms and the 115,596 who voted when the mayor’s office was up for grabs in 2025.

When it comes to young voters: they turned out in record numbers to register and vote on Election Day at the University of Michigan’s two election hubs, at least.

The full voter count across the state wasn’t in as of Wednesday, and the data needs more dissecting. It’s also important to note that following 2022, Michigan has required municipalities to allow early voting for statewide and federal elections.

Still, Smidt said it was clear that turnout was high. It also appeared “that growth was much more concentrated in Democratic-leaning areas.”

Even though they lost statewide races, Republican voters did turn out, Smidt said.

He said it looked like GOP nominee for governor John James would garner more votes in 2026 than the 2022 candidate, Tudor Dixon, did.

And he even didn't win.

Less competitive state races in certain areas and a “relatively quiet” governor’s race may have impacted the results, as could the “nasty campaign” with the U.S. Senate race, Smidt said.

Exit polling data across the country indicates Hispanic voters may have shifted back to Democrats and that there’s a solid gender gap, said Josh Pasek, a University of Michigan professor of political science and communication and media.

How that may have played out in Michigan wasn’t immediately clear.

When it comes to the blue tsunami seen nationally, Michigan didn’t see a swing as strong as in Kansas, for example, Smidt said, looking generally at shifts across counties as reported by The New York Times.

But it still saw a big swing. One that "would be a big wave by any other standard,” Pasek said.