Gary Peters Projected Winner In Michigan U.S. Senate Race

MICHIGAN — Democratic Sen. Gary Peters has fended off a challenge from Republican John James in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, and Democrats successfully defending a seat. Peters was projected to win the seat by The Associated Press at 9:12 p.m.

Heading into Wednesday morning, James had a significant lead over Peters, an incumbent. But as the day grew on and a large amount of absentee ballots were counted in Michigan, Peters closed the gap. Eventually, he took the lead with an estimated 99 percent votes counted.

See the latest results below as they come in:

Peters: 2,683,807

James: 2,623,827

(Election results provided by The Detroit News; About 98 percent of estimated votes counted.)

Peters, of Bloomfield Hills, took office in 2014, when he won took over for the retiring Carl Levin. James, of Farmington Hills, ran unsuccessfully for the Senate seat currently held by Debbie Stabenow in 2018.

Patch is updating this article with results as they come in. Refresh this page for the latest. Subscribe to receive free real time results in Michigan.

Peters was one of two Democratic senators up for re-election in states President Donald Trump won in 2016. The other is Alabama, where Republican Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, defeated Democrat Doug Jones. Democrats have successfully flipped two U.S. Senate seats held by Republicans so far, in Arizona and Colorado.

Regardless which direction the presidential election goes, U.S. Senate races such as the one between James and Peters are crucial to whoever is in the White House. If Biden defeats Trump, he would have a difficult time passing key legislation unless Democrats can grab additional seats in the Senate, which currently is leaning 53-47 in favor of Republicans.

The race between James and Peters has broken fundraising records in Michigan, with the total spending between the two campaigns potentially topping $100 million, according to Michigan Advance.

A key issue mentioned frequently by both candidates is health care. Peters voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act, and has routinely said he wants to expand access to healthcare.

James, however, has said he would be in favor of repealing the ACA, but has run campaign ads saying he supports protections for pre-existing conditions. In one ad, which features his wife, the fact that his son has asthma is mentioned. But James hasn't said how he would continue or expand protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Many polls have Peters with a slight edge over James, a former helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Tuesday night she expects ballots to be counted in Michigan by Wednesday night, an optimistic claim after originally projecting that votes would be tallied by Friday.