Shkreli Says Gilchrist Told Her He Didn't Want The SOS Job Before She Entered Race

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/06/2026) Former State Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli, who's running to be Democrats' Secretary of State nominee, says her opponent, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II "told me point-blank that he didn't want this job" ahead of her entering the race last December.

Shkreli appeared on the MIRS Monday podcast episode to talk about her bid for Secretary of State ahead of the Michigan Democratic Party's (MDP) April 19 endorsement convention.

"I know that the Lieutenant Governor, for example, was running for governor. He got out, he joined this race … all the institutional support fell behind him. I had a sitting member of Congress tell me that that was going to happen," Shkreli said. "It's hard now to think that somebody who really doesn't want the position is really fighting hard to have it."

Shkreli entered the Secretary of State's race on Dec. 8, exiting her role as the Michigan State Lottery Commissioner.

She additionally spent two years as deputy legal counsel to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, making her "emergency management" skills — from providing legal counsel during challenges to the November 2020 election results and the May 2020 Midland-area dam failures — a focus of her campaign.

Gilchrist entered the race in January, following an alleged whisper campaign that Gilchrist should drop out of the Governor's race due to poor fundraising skills and so Democratic donors and organizations could consolidate their support and resources early on behind Jocelyn Benson.

Benson is the perceived Democratic frontrunner in the Governor's race, and the present-day Secretary of State.

"This office is just too important to be a coronation, too important to go to somebody who doesn't really want the job," Shkreli said. "And I know that's true in the Lieutenant Governor's case because I had a conversation with him before I jumped into this race, and he told me point-blank that he didn't want this job."

She added that she's personally registered 1,500 people to attend Democrats' April 19 convention.

The convention will take place at Huntington Place in Detroit, with credentialing beginning the day prior at 10 a.m. Democrats will determine their picks for Secretary of State, Attorney General, two open spots on the Michigan Supreme Court and statewide-elected education boards, who become the party's nominees and do not appear on Michigan's August primary ballot.

Candidates must collect 829 valid signatures, worth 15 percent of the party's delegate vote, in-person during the convention weekend in order to be voted on by party members.

The Michigan Republican Party held its endorsement convention on March 28 to give their candidates extra time to fundraise and appeal to a general election audience. Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd and Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini were respectively selected Republicans' picks for Attorney General and Secretary of State following a single round of voting.

Shkreli, from October 2011 through 2018, prosecuted crimes against children in the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office. Because of her experience in the county, Shkreli sees herself as "uniquely situated" to beat Forlini on his home turf.

For Republicans, one of their benefits from having Forlini as their Secretary of State candidate is access to county-wide name recognition in Macomb. Macomb County has gone red while President Donald Trump is on the ballot, which pushes turnout among voters who otherwise aren't as active.

But it's also a place where, with Trump's name absent on the ballot, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won in 2022 with 51.8 percent of the vote and Benson won for Secretary of State with 54.6 percent of the vote. In 2018, Whitmer won Macomb County with 50.4 percent and Benson with 51.2 percent.

Furthermore, Shkreli is a first-generation Albanian American. According to the Albanian Community of Michigan, the state is home to the second largest Albanian-American community in the country with more than 160,000 members. Notably, many of them are located in the Macomb County communities of Shelby Township, Sterling Heights, Macomb Township and Clinton Township.

The voting population tends to be more conservative, but if Shkreli becomes the Democratic nominee, she could possibly take a Republican Macomb County voter block away from Forlini in his home county.

"My parents fled authoritarianism in the Balkans in search of a better life, and so I grew up tough. Playing hockey, I was the only girl on an all-boys team," Shkreli said. "But I also grew up in my family's diner, and so, making sure that people aren't waiting too long, getting them what they need, serving them with a smile … these are the tenets of how I was raised."

In the month of December, Shkreli raised $302,497 for her Secretary of State bid.

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum raised $103,106 for her Democratic Secretary of State bid from Oct. 21 through December.

Gilchrist, while still running for governor, raised $175,953 from Oct. 21 through the end of 2025, entering the new year with $262,764 leftover in his account after spending $1.04 million on his now-dissolved gubernatorial run.

Additionally, Gilchrist's bid for Secretary of State is being targeted early on by Republicans. For example, on social media, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said that Gilchrist would be the easiest opponent for Republicans to beat in the Secretary of State's race, mentioning the time Gilchrist in 2017 lost to incumbent Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey.

At the time, Gilchrist ignited a recount, claiming that a "tide shift," along with reported irregularities from some absentee voters in the city, warranted a deeper look.

"Even though Gilchrist has lost numerous elections, maintains a 4% attendance record in the legislature, and has stated he has no interest in being Secretary of State, I must endorse him for the Democrat nomination," Hall said. "After all, he has accurately claimed there is widespread voter fraud in Detroit and has been very supportive of Governor Whitmer's cooperative approach with President Trump."

Also, at the end of 2025, Forlini raised $118,781.

"I'm leaning into my connections and my support within the Tri-County area. I think that my message resonates with people," Shkreli said. "I am not the establishment pick. I'm not being coronated. I am the hardworking daughter of Albanian immigrants who fled authoritarianism who wants to be Secretary of State to protect our Constitution, our voice and our vote."