Gretchen Whitmer will be Michigan’s 49th governor. The former Senate Minority leader beat out Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette. The office has been under Republican control for eight years – current governor Rick Snyder is term limited and couldn’t run again.
Whitmer’s campaign was built around a promise to fix the state’s roads and she built up a following among moderate Republicans.
The state’s next lieutenant governor will be Garlin Gilchrist – the first African American lieutenant governor in Michigan’s history.