Campaign text messages sent to Michigan voters recently on behalf of Republican University of Michigan regent candidate Lena Epstein featured photos of Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, former NBA player Jalen Rose, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, with one message declaring, “This is Lena Epstein, and I am proud to have Democrat support in my campaign for U-M Regent.” Another text read simply, “Your ballot is still out.”
The texts were detailed in a report from The Detroit News, written by Craig Mauger, Melissa Nann Burke, Beth LeBlanc and Grant Schwab. Epstein is running as one of two Republican nominees for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, alongside Bloomfield Township Treasurer Michael Schostak, as the pair try to pry loose seats currently held by a Democratic-majority board.
A Crowded Field Heading Into Nov. 3
Democrats currently hold a 6-2 majority on the Ann Arbor university's board, according to mlive.com. The Democratic Party's nominees for the two open seats are Amir Makled and Paul Brown, while Andrew Chadderdon is running as the Libertarian Party candidate and Kyle Maas is running for the U.S. Taxpayers Party, per the same outlet. Whoever wins the two seats on Nov. 3 will serve eight-year terms, according to record.umich.edu.
Epstein is a co-owner, board member and executive of Vesco Oil Corporation, according to her campaign website. She previously sought a regent seat before this cycle: the Michigan Daily reported she ran for the board in 2022 and lost by a 0.7 percentage-point margin, a figure also cited by the Forward. However, mlive.com described Epstein as having lost a 2024 regent bid rather than a 2022 one, a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve. Epstein also unsuccessfully ran for Michigan's 11th House district against Stevens in 2018, according to the Michigan Daily, and she co-chaired Donald Trump's 2016 Michigan campaign, per her campaign site.
Affordability And Transparency Dominate The Race
The regents race is heavily centered around affordability, according to michiganpublic.org, and Epstein has called for university tuition to be either frozen or cut entirely, the outlet reported. At a Faculty Senate forum on Sept. 24 that drew five of the six candidates vying for the two seats, Epstein said she would seek incredible transparency about where university money is spent, according to record.umich.edu. Michigan Public also reported that all four candidates who addressed the issue agreed campus free speech needed protecting and that greater administrative transparency was needed, noting that the university ended its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs to avoid cuts to federal funding.
Schostak has pitched his financial credentials directly to voters, saying in comments reported by mlive.com, “As Bloomfield Twp Treasurer I manage $500M in public funds and a $100M budget.” The Michigan Daily reported separately that Schostak wants to increase the percentage of in-state students and expand access to the Go Blue Guarantee, which offers free tuition to Michigan residents with household income and assets below $125,000. Epstein pledged to support that program if it continues to exist, though the Michigan Daily noted she said she wanted to find an alternative.
2021 Arrest Resurfaced In Court Filing
Separately from the current ad campaign, a court filing revealed that Epstein was arrested on Sept. 2, 2021, on suspicion of assaulting her boyfriend in front of her then-four-year-old daughter, according to bridgemi.com. The outlet reported that the Michigan State Police confirmed the arrest and referred the matter to the Mackinac County prosecutor for review, and that Prosecutor J. Stuart Spencer ultimately decided not to file criminal charges after consulting with the alleged victim.
Epstein denied the allegations, according to the same report, arguing the responding state police trooper had tried to make an example out of her and calling the Mackinac Island incident a nothing burger. The dossier of reporting reviewed does not include a primary court record or prosecutor statement beyond what bridgemi.com's account describes.
A Contest Shadowed By Campus Tensions
Beyond fiscal issues, the race has also been framed around campus antisemitism and tensions tied to wars in the Middle East, with the Forward reporting that the matchup creates a clear contrast for voters. That dynamic, combined with Epstein's crossover-appeal messaging naming Stevens, Rose and Kilpatrick, underscores how both parties are courting a broader coalition of voters ahead of a race that could reshape the balance of power on one of Michigan's most influential public boards.
