Flint, MI – Cynthia Neeley won a special Democratic primary on Tuesday for the Michigan House of Representatives seat vacated by her husband, Sheldon Neeley, when he was elected Flint mayor.
Neeley beat nine opponents in the special primary, taking 28.49% of the vote with 98% of precincts reporting results at the time of publication.
Sean Croudy, Flint’s recreational director, came in second with 13.99% of the vote, followed by Flint City Councilman Santino Guerra with 11.57%.
“I want to thank all the residents that voted, my family and friends that helped campaign, and all the other candidates for running a clean campaign,” Guerra said in a Facebook post. “I wouldn’t have changed a single thing we did, and I would like to congratulate our next State Representative Neeley.”
Charis Lee, an army veteran, came in fourth place with 10.53% of the vote while Claudia Perkins-Milton, a General Motors retiree, came in fifth place with 9.72%.
Michael Clack, the son of former state Reps. Floyd Clack and Brenda Clack, came in sixth place with 7.6% of the vote, followed by Flint City Council President Monica Galloway at 7.55%.
“Unfortunately, I did not win. We gave it a good run. We’re not done,” Clack said. “You’ll see this name again, you’ll see this logo again, you’ll see this shirt again.”
Neeley will go on to face Republican Adam Ford, who ran unopposed in the special primary, in a special general election on March 10, the day of Michigan’s presidential primary.
The winner of the special general election will serve the remainder of the current term in the House, which ends Dec. 31.
To win a full two-year term, they will have to run again in an Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general election.