By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH, MI – The Nov. 3 ballot is pretty much set after the results of the Aug. 4 primary in and the filing deadline passed for village and school board seats.
The Aug. 4 primary saw the approval of several area millage proposals for road, fire and other issues. In addition, voters chose the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor, senator, congress and the state legislature.
The state will have a new governor in November with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term limited from running again. Democrats chose Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as their nominee, while Republicans chose Congressman John James as their nominee.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Gary Peters. Incumbents won their party nominations in races for U.S. Congress, the State Senate and the State House.
The race for the 37th state house seat will be a rematch of the 2024 race with incumbent Republican Brad Paquette facing Democrat Angela Jones. The 37th state house district covers central and southern Berrien County as well as parts of Cass County.
Paquette of Niles was easily winning the Republican primary over challenger and fellow Niles resident Steve Bury, receiving nearly 90 percent of the votes. Paquette is seeking his fifth term in the state house, having first been elected in 2018. Jones ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
The fall campaign should cover familiar themes for the two candidates.
Paquette has traditionally run on a platform of conservative principles including support for the Second Amendment and limited government as well as pro-life policies and limits on gender transition procedures for minors. He has advocated for road and infrastructure funding, opposed gas tax increases and pushed for ethics reform in the legislature.
Jones has been active the last year and a half in organizing protests in the Niles area against President Donald Trump. Those protests have included regular rallies in downtown Niles protesting Trump policies. Her campaign website listed supporting labor and worker rights, protecting agriculture, and prioritizing equity as key issues.
Proposals approved in the Aug. 4 election included millage renewals for the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport Authority and the North Berrien Historical Society. Police millages were approved in Benton and Niles Townships, while voters in Benton, Berrien, Niles and Pipestone Townships approved fire millages.
Road millages were approved in Galien, Pipestone, and Three Oaks Townships. Bertrand Township voters renewed their millage for emergency medical services, while Sodus Township voters approved joining the Eau Claire District Library and increasing their annual millage.
In school board and village races, there will be contested races for Baroda Village President and Village Council, Eau Claire Village Council and Three Oaks Village Council. There will also be contested races for the Benton Harbor, Coloma, Eau Claire, Lakeshore, New Buffalo, St. Joseph, and Watervliet school boards.
In other races, people in the cities of Buchanan and Niles will have contested races for the Buchanan City Commission and the Niles City Council. The school board, village, and city council races are all non-partisan.