Doug Lloyd says he wants more focus on victims in cases at state level
By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, who this week announced his campaign for attorney general, said the public can learn about who he is as a real trial attorney and a candidate by turning on Court TV and watching him try a 20-year-old murder cold case.
Lloyd, in an interview with Gongwer News Service, said he is looking forward to having the opportunity to get out and meet people, and while the whole world doesn’t know him yet, they will.
Lloyd announced his campaign in the Republican race for attorney general on “The Right Side with Deb Drick” podcast as well as in a Facebook post, saying that he made the decision to run after “many months of contemplation.”
“I love Eaton County and my office, and I have been honored to be the Eaton County prosecutor for the last 12 years,” the post said. “But in my heart, I feel that there are changes that must be made at the state level and I believe I am the person who can make that happen.”
Lloyd has been the county prosecutor since 2013 after being head of the county’s economic crimes unit and serving as the chief assistant prosecuting attorney. He is also the former president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan.
In the statement about his announcement, he touted his appointments to the Organized Retail Fraud Advisory Board, Insurance Fraud Task Force and State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee .
He is joining one other Republican in the race, Birmingham defense attorney Kevin Kijewski. Kijewski announced his bid in April and recently started spearheading a move to bring the false elector case from 2020 to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Democratic side of the race is also heating up with Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit and former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten in the race.
Attorney General Dana Nessel cannot seek reelection in 2026.
Lloyd said he’s running for office because he fell in love with being a prosecutor 33 years ago and has had real experience in weighing in on bills in criminal justice reform.
Many times, Lloyd said he would feel that the victim was left out of the equation, instead, only seeing bills that favored the defendant.
“I always found it strange that the legislators were just running to make all of these changes without thinking about the victim, but yet, the attorney general, who represents all of the people in the state of Michigan, they are the people’s attorney, they are the chief law enforcement officer for the state, (and) they remain silent,” Lloyd said. “That bothered me, and I continue to see that more and more. “He said he also saw an issue with how Nessel was “worried about getting out in front of a camera rather than making sure that her assistant attorney generals actually know how to do their job,” emphasizing that he thinks the attorney general focuses on the individuals in cases too much instead of the facts of the case.
He said the attorney general’s office “should not be seeking headlines.”
“Their job is to actually make sure that the citizens of the state of Michigan are actually safe,” Lloyd said.
Along with victims, he also said he wants to see law enforcement officers get more support in their job from the office, with accountability in making sure they are doing their job but also respect in that they “go out there every day and they try to do their job correctly.” Lloyd said he is setting himself apart from other opponents because he has charged thousands of cases, has run an office and spoken to legislators about issues within the criminal justice realm.
“One of the charges of attorney general is to be able to actually be their voice or sounding board, in the sense that when they have laws they want to bring out, the attorney general should actually be there to help them, to guide them as to whether this is good or bad law,” he said. “I do that now. These aren’t theories. These aren’t thoughts of ‘Well, I hope to be able to do these things.’ I’m already doing it.”
He also said when it comes to fighting against name recognition against Democratic candidates that have tried big cases in bigger counties or presidential appointees, he cited his Court TV highlight where he prosecuted Beverly McCallum, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and mutilation of a body in the 2002 death of her husband. He said everyone has stories and different ways that people know their name.
When it comes to his experience as a county prosecutor informing his opinions on the attorney general’s office’s relationship with the counties, he would speak out in supporting more state funding for prosecutors’ offices to attract talent where there is a lack of people even applying to the offices and more money going towards county defense offices. He said he would also look at the possibility of expanding what counties would get assistance in their appellate responsibilities outside of just the counties with 75,000 or fewer residents.
When asked how he would approach investigating a case that is making lots of news coming out of the department, the investigation into Fay Beydoun’s $20 million grant that has led to a legal battle between the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Attorney General, Lloyd said it is the responsibility of the attorney general to look at corruption. However, he said he would focus on handling the case in court rather than putting out information for the media to report about the case. What citizens are going to get from his potential spot in the attorney general’s office, Lloyd said, is the “law enforced fairly,” and no favorites or political prosecutions.
He also wants to see more protection of the state of Michigan overall. “There’s too many times that I’m seeing that there are opportunities for the attorney general to get involved with things that are about protecting Michigan where there’s silence,” he said.
Gongwer News Service
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd, who this week announced his campaign for attorney general, said the public can learn about who he is as a real trial attorney and a candidate by turning on Court TV and watching him try a 20-year-old murder cold case.
Lloyd, in an interview with Gongwer News Service, said he is looking forward to having the opportunity to get out and meet people, and while the whole world doesn’t know him yet, they will.
Lloyd announced his campaign in the Republican race for attorney general on “The Right Side with Deb Drick” podcast as well as in a Facebook post, saying that he made the decision to run after “many months of contemplation.”
“I love Eaton County and my office, and I have been honored to be the Eaton County prosecutor for the last 12 years,” the post said. “But in my heart, I feel that there are changes that must be made at the state level and I believe I am the person who can make that happen.”
Lloyd has been the county prosecutor since 2013 after being head of the county’s economic crimes unit and serving as the chief assistant prosecuting attorney. He is also the former president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan.
In the statement about his announcement, he touted his appointments to the Organized Retail Fraud Advisory Board, Insurance Fraud Task Force and State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee .
He is joining one other Republican in the race, Birmingham defense attorney Kevin Kijewski. Kijewski announced his bid in April and recently started spearheading a move to bring the false elector case from 2020 to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Democratic side of the race is also heating up with Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit and former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten in the race.
Attorney General Dana Nessel cannot seek reelection in 2026.
Lloyd said he’s running for office because he fell in love with being a prosecutor 33 years ago and has had real experience in weighing in on bills in criminal justice reform.
Many times, Lloyd said he would feel that the victim was left out of the equation, instead, only seeing bills that favored the defendant.
“I always found it strange that the legislators were just running to make all of these changes without thinking about the victim, but yet, the attorney general, who represents all of the people in the state of Michigan, they are the people’s attorney, they are the chief law enforcement officer for the state, (and) they remain silent,” Lloyd said. “That bothered me, and I continue to see that more and more. “He said he also saw an issue with how Nessel was “worried about getting out in front of a camera rather than making sure that her assistant attorney generals actually know how to do their job,” emphasizing that he thinks the attorney general focuses on the individuals in cases too much instead of the facts of the case.
He said the attorney general’s office “should not be seeking headlines.”
“Their job is to actually make sure that the citizens of the state of Michigan are actually safe,” Lloyd said.
Along with victims, he also said he wants to see law enforcement officers get more support in their job from the office, with accountability in making sure they are doing their job but also respect in that they “go out there every day and they try to do their job correctly.” Lloyd said he is setting himself apart from other opponents because he has charged thousands of cases, has run an office and spoken to legislators about issues within the criminal justice realm.
“One of the charges of attorney general is to be able to actually be their voice or sounding board, in the sense that when they have laws they want to bring out, the attorney general should actually be there to help them, to guide them as to whether this is good or bad law,” he said. “I do that now. These aren’t theories. These aren’t thoughts of ‘Well, I hope to be able to do these things.’ I’m already doing it.”
He also said when it comes to fighting against name recognition against Democratic candidates that have tried big cases in bigger counties or presidential appointees, he cited his Court TV highlight where he prosecuted Beverly McCallum, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and mutilation of a body in the 2002 death of her husband. He said everyone has stories and different ways that people know their name.
When it comes to his experience as a county prosecutor informing his opinions on the attorney general’s office’s relationship with the counties, he would speak out in supporting more state funding for prosecutors’ offices to attract talent where there is a lack of people even applying to the offices and more money going towards county defense offices. He said he would also look at the possibility of expanding what counties would get assistance in their appellate responsibilities outside of just the counties with 75,000 or fewer residents.
When asked how he would approach investigating a case that is making lots of news coming out of the department, the investigation into Fay Beydoun’s $20 million grant that has led to a legal battle between the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Attorney General, Lloyd said it is the responsibility of the attorney general to look at corruption. However, he said he would focus on handling the case in court rather than putting out information for the media to report about the case. What citizens are going to get from his potential spot in the attorney general’s office, Lloyd said, is the “law enforced fairly,” and no favorites or political prosecutions.
He also wants to see more protection of the state of Michigan overall. “There’s too many times that I’m seeing that there are opportunities for the attorney general to get involved with things that are about protecting Michigan where there’s silence,” he said.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
