Michigan Supreme Court races are a curious hybrid in which candidates are nominated by political parties but run on a non-partisan ballot.  If that sounds confusing, there is an additional complication this year because the two Republican incumbents up for re-election are unlikely to run on the same slate due to philosophical and personal differences.

Justices Elizabeth Weaver and Robert Young are part of the court's 4-3 Republican majority, but Weaver, a moderate, sometimes votes with the three Democratic justices, providing the deciding vote that made Democrat Marilyn Kelly chief justice.  Young, a staunch conservative, is not only at odds with Weaver over her voting record, but the two get along so poorly that Young has given Republicans an ultimatum to nominate only one of them on the party's slate for the Nov. 2 election.

As Young's views make him likely to prevail at the August Republican convention, two candidates are seeking to replace Weaver on the party's slate, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Mary Beth Kelly and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jane Markey.  But even if Weaver is denied the Republican nomination, she can run for re-election as an independent, because, as an incumbent, she can file an affidavit of candidacy by July 5 to get on the ballot.  Regardless of how they get on the ballot, both Young and Weaver would run with incumbent designations, which usually provide an electoral advantage.

Meanwhile, Democrats have targeted Young for defeat.  As Young is the court's only African-American justice, three African-American judges are seeking the Democratic nomination to run against him: Deborah Thomas, of Wayne County Circuit Court; Denise Langford Morris, of Oakland County Circuit Court; and Shelia Johnson, of 46th (Southfield) District Court.  The other Democratic nomination will probably go to Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo, Jr., unless Weaver runs as an independent and Democrats decide to give her a free ride.

But there remains the possibility that Weaver, who announced that she was planning to resign in 2005 but later changed her mind, may decide not to seek re-election, resulting in an open seat and a more straightforward election.  Her decision is expected sometime this summer.