2016 Oakland County Executive election

2016 Oakland County Executive election

←  2012 November 8, 2016 2020  →

Nominee L. Brooks Patterson Vicki Barnett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 340,579 293,303 Percentage 53.50% 46.08%

Oakland County Executive before election L. Brooks Patterson Republican Elected Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson Republican

The 2016 Oakland County Executive election was held on November 8, 2016. Incumbent County Executive L. Brooks Patterson ran for re-election to a seventh term. Former State Representative Vicki Barnett won the Democratic primary and opposed Patterson in the general election. Patterson defeated Barnett with 54 percent of the vote, a significantly narrower margin than his past victories. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Vicki Barnett, former State Representative ^[2]
• Mark Danowski, 2012 Democratic candidate for Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner ^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vicki Barnett	53,021	78.26%
	Democratic	Mark Danowski	14,558	21.49%
	Democratic	Write-ins	171	0.25%
Total votes			67,750	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• L. Brooks Patterson, incumbent County Executive

Results

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	L. Brooks Patterson (inc.)	86,460	99.56%
	Republican	Write-ins	380	0.44%
Total votes			86,840	100.00%

General election

Results

2016 Oakland County Executive election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	L. Brooks Patterson (inc.)	340,579	53.50%
	Democratic	Vicki Barnett	293,303	46.08%
	Write-in		2,677	0.42%
Total votes			636,559	100.00%
	Republican hold

References

1. Martindale, Mike (November 9, 2016). "Patterson wins another term as Oakland County executive". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
2. Kampe, Paul (March 30, 2016). "Former state rep. Vicki Barnett to run against L. Brooks Patterson". The Oakland Press . Troy, Michigan . Retrieved June 29, 2025.
3. Gray, Kathleen (March 30, 2016). "Former lawmaker Barnett to challenge Patterson". Detroit Free Press . Detroit, Michigan. p. 3A. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
4. "August 2, 2016 Primary Election". Oakland County Clerk. September 6, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
5. "November 8, 2016 General Election". Oakland County Clerk. November 22, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2025.