Doug Dern

Doug Dern is an officeholder of the Natural Law Party of Michigan Chair.

Dern (Natural Law Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Michigan. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Dern's career experience includes working as an attorney. He received an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma University in 1999 and a J.D. from Thomas Cooley Law School in 2002.^[1]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Michigan

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Michigan on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elissa Slotkin (D)	48.6	2,712,686
		Mike Rogers (R)	48.3	2,693,680
		Joseph Solis-Mullen (L)	1.0	56,697
		Douglas P. Marsh (G)	1.0	53,978
		Dave Stein (U.S. Taxpayers Party)	0.7	41,363
		Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)	0.3	18,779
		Valerie Willis (U.S. Taxpayers Party) (Write-in)	0.0	2
	Submit photo	James Chapman (R) (Write-in)	0.0	1
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	4

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,577,190
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

James Frizzell (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Elissa Slotkin defeated Hill Harper in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan on August 6, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Elissa Slotkin	76.3	712,791
	Hill Harper	23.7	221,053

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 933,844
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Mike Rogers defeated Justin Amash, Sherry O'Donnell, and Sandy Pensler in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan on August 6, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mike Rogers	63.2	555,766
	Justin Amash	15.6	137,565
	Sherry O'Donnell	12.1	106,466
	Sandy Pensler	9.1	79,772

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 879,569
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Douglas P. Marsh advanced from the Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on June 15, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Douglas P. Marsh (G)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Joseph Solis-Mullen advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on July 20, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Joseph Solis-Mullen (L)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Natural Law Party convention

Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Doug Dern advanced from the Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on April 17, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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U.S. Taxpayers Party convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Dave Stein advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on July 27, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Dave Stein (U.S. Taxpayers Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Dern in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

The following candidates ran in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Garlin Gilchrist II (D)	54.5	2,430,505
	Shane Hernandez (R)	43.9	1,960,635
	Brian Ellison (L)	0.9	38,800
	Mellissa Carone (U.S. Taxpayers Party)	0.4	16,246
	Destiny Clayton (G)	0.2	10,766
	Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)	0.1	4,973
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	47

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,461,972
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Incumbent Garlin Gilchrist II advanced from the Democratic convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on August 21, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Garlin Gilchrist II (D)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican convention

Republican convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Shane Hernandez advanced from the Republican convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on August 27, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Shane Hernandez (R)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green convention

Green convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Destiny Clayton advanced from the Green convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Destiny Clayton (G)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Brian Ellison advanced from the Libertarian convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on July 10, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Brian Ellison (L)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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U.S. Taxpayers Party convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Mellissa Carone advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan on July 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Mellissa Carone (U.S. Taxpayers Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

United States Senate election in Michigan, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in Michigan, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Michigan

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Michigan on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Gary Peters (D)	49.9	2,734,568
	John James (R)	48.2	2,642,233
	Valerie Willis (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)	0.9	50,597
	Marcia Squier (G)	0.7	39,217
	Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)	0.2	13,093
	Leonard Gadzinski (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	7
	Bob Carr (R) (Write-in)	0.0	5

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,479,720
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Gregory Charles Jones (Other)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Incumbent Gary Peters advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gary Peters	100.0	1,180,780

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,180,780
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

John James advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John James	100.0	1,005,315

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,005,315
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Bob Carr (R)

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Marcia Squier advanced from the Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on June 20, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Marcia Squier (G)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Natural Law Party convention

Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Doug Dern advanced from the Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on July 30, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Valerie Willis advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention for U.S. Senate Michigan on July 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Valerie Willis (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Michigan Supreme Court elections, 2018

Although the general election was officially nonpartisan, candidates were nominated to the ballot by party convention. Party affiliation listed below refers to the party that nominated each candidate.

General election

General election for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Michigan Supreme Court on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Elizabeth Clement (R)	29.9	1,871,462
✔	Megan Cavanagh (D)	25.3	1,584,512
	Kurtis Wilder (R)	24.3	1,519,394
	Samuel Bagenstos (D)	11.5	717,062
	Kerry Lee Morgan (L)	5.8	360,858
	Doug Dern (Natural Law Party)	3.3	209,103

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,262,391
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

Dern filed to run for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2016.^[2] He faced incumbent Justice David Viviano on November 8, 2016.

Election results

November 8 general election

Incumbent David Viviano defeated Frank S. Szymanski and Doug Dern in the general election for the Michigan Supreme Court, Viviano's seat.

Michigan Supreme Court, Viviano's Seat, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	David Viviano Incumbent	67.23%	2,316,459
	Democratic	Frank S. Szymanski	23.01%	792,944
	Natural Law Party of Michigan	Doug Dern	9.76%	336,160
Total Votes (83 of 83 counties: 100%)				3,445,563
Source: Michigan Secretary of State Official Results

2014

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2014
Dern ran for election to the Michigan Supreme Court.
General: He was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014, after receiving 4 percent of the vote. He competed against Brian Zahra, Richard Bernstein, William B. Murphy, and James Robert Redford for two open seats.Dern was nominated by the Natural Law Party.^[3]

2012

Dern was one of seven candidates competing for two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court in the general election on November 6, 2012. He was defeated in the general election, receiving 3.38 percent of the vote.^[4]^[5]

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2012

Campaign themes

2024

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Doug Dern campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. Senate Michigan	Lost general	$0	N/A**
2022	Lieutenant Governor of Michigan	Lost general	$0	$0
2020	U.S. Senate Michigan	Lost general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. Senate Michigan

Personal

Footnotes

↑ ProjectVoteSmart.org, "Douglas Dern Biography," accessed November 19, 2014
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Filing
↑ Michigan Department of State, "2014 Unofficial Michigan General Candidate Listing," accessed August 26, 2014
↑ Michigan Department of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results: Supreme Court"
↑ Michigan Department of State, "2012 General Election Candidates"

[show]

Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Gary Peters (D)

Elissa Slotkin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jack Bergman (R)

District 2

John Moolenaar (R)

District 3

Hillary Scholten (D)

District 4

Bill Huizenga (R)

District 5

Tim Walberg (R)

District 6

Debbie Dingell (D)

District 7

Tom Barrett (R)

District 8

Kristen Rivet (D)

District 9

Lisa McClain (R)

District 10

John James (R)

District 11

Haley Stevens (D)

District 12

Rashida Tlaib (D)

District 13

Shri Thanedar (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (7)

[bio-1] ProjectVoteSmart.org, "Douglas Dern Biography," accessed November 19, 2014

[Filing-2] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Filing

[candidate-3] Michigan Department of State, "2014 Unofficial Michigan General Candidate Listing," accessed August 26, 2014

[4] Michigan Department of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results: Supreme Court"

[5] Michigan Department of State, "2012 General Election Candidates"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

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Doug Dern

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Michigan

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Natural Law Party convention

Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Republican convention

Republican convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Green convention

Green convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Michigan

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Michigan

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

Natural Law Party convention

Natural Law Party convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention for U.S. Senate Michigan

2018

General election

General election for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

2016

Election results

November 8 general election

2014

2012

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

2020

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

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