At Michigan Democratic Party convention, U-M regent race takes center stage

LANSING — As Michigan Democrats gathered in Lansing on Saturday to nominate candidates for statewide offices on the heels of a national convention to unify the party behind Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic efforts for a shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel continued to expose fissures within the party with the University of Michigan's Board of Regents race taking center stage.

Palestinian American human and civil rights attorney Huwaida Arraf wasn't planning to seek Democrats' nomination for the board at the party's convention until student activists frustrated with the board's handling of protests against the war in Gaza asked her to launch a last-minute bid.

Arraf saw a chance to make history as the first Arab American on the board, but she lost to incumbent Democrat Denise Ilitch and Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs. Diggs received over 2,800 votes and Ilitch received over 2,400 while Arraf received just over 2,300 under the party's proportional voting system. Ahead of the nominations, Arraf said her campaign, despite the outcome, would still send a strong statement. Her supporters expressed outrage over the loss, and launched into pro-Palestinian chants and demanded to see the results map when the outcome was announced.

"In November, we'll remember," they chanted.

Ilitch, of Birmingham, previously served as the president of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and was first elected to the Board of Regents in 2008. Diggs is a dermatologist who graduated college and medical school at the University of Michigan. Among her campaign priorities, she said she wants to make tuition free for families of four with household incomes below $65,000.

The nomination for two seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents was the only contested race at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention, where candidates for Michigan Supreme Court, the State Board of Education and university boards were also nominated.

In the uncontested races, the party nominated Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thompson for Michigan Supreme Court, Ted Jones and Adam Zemke for State Board of Education, Rebecca Bahar-Cook and Tommy Stallworth for Michigan State University Board of Trustees and Mark Gaffney and Rasha Demashkieh for Wayne State University Board of Governors.

Before Democrats cast their convention votes, Arraf addressed a sea of supporters that included University of Michigan students, parents, faculty and staff wearing maize and blue shirts bearing her name. Her voice blared through a megaphone as she described her experience in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention where uncommitted delegates were denied a request for a Palestinian American speaker.

"It was shameful that they made us feel as Palestinians and Arab Americans that we don't have a place in this party," she said.

In making the case for Democrats at the convention to nominate her, Arraf said her campaign is an effort to bridge what she described as a disconnect between University of Michigan students and the board. She's currently representing a student undergoing disciplinary proceedings stemming from the student's involvement in Gaza-related protest activity on campus.

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The convention provided another forum to advance those demands. A woman wearing a hijab shouted demands for divestment at University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker on the convention floor as he stood still with his right hand on his chest during the national anthem. Acker's law firm was vandalized earlier this year with messages that included "Free Palestine" and "UM kills." Acker said he was targeted because he is Jewish. Acker is not up for reelection this year as his term expires January 2027.

Israel responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 with counterstrikes in Gaza. Over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the conflict, according to the territory's health ministry. Students across the country have mobilized in protest of Israeli military action and demanded their schools divest from companies tied to Israel and weapons manufacturers.

Arraf said the board needs to do more to uplift student voices. "They need to have a seat at the table. We need to protect them if they're protesting," she said.

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Salma Hamamy — a Palestinian American who recently graduated from the University of Michigan — was among the large group of Arraf supporters at the Democratic convention. Hamamy said she has lost family members in Gaza and recalled a police officer snatched a megaphone out of her hands while she participated in the student encampment at the Diag protesting the war.

Hamamy was president of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at the university and expressed disdain for the board's response to the anti-war activism on campus. "In a word, it was appalling," she said. "They refused to engage in dialogue with the students."

The Michigan Democratic Party convention Saturday marked a continued celebration of Harris' campaign following the DNC. Michigan Democratic leaders who spent the week in Chicago described the gathering as high-energy, passionate rallying around Harris.

But Arraf — who said she was an alternate uncommitted delegate at the DNC — left the Windy City distraught. She told the Free Press that the party sent a clear message in denying their request for a Palestinian American speaker : "We want your votes, but we don't want your votes," she said.

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, told the Arab American caucus at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention that he wasn't involved in that decision. But Tate — the first Black House speaker — said Arab Americans' efforts to have their voices heard feel familiar. "You look at 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement, Black community they were saying the same thing, am I wrong? So having those voices in the room, that's what gives us our strength," he said.

Addressing the full convention, other top Democrats in Michigan made pleas for unprecedented mobilization to elect Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot. "So my challenge to you is that we have 10 million in Michigan so we need to have at least 10 million conversations between now and Nov. 5," said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. Arraf said seeing Harris call for an embargo on sending U.S. arms to Israel would make many of those conversations easier and help Democrats make the case against former President Donald Trump.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen .

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: At Michigan Democratic Party convention, U-M regent race takes center stage