Nov. 3 has been an historic election day for Michigan and Detroit

A highly contested and contentious political season in Michigan is coming to an end Nov. 3.

After all of the attack ads, and the bombardment of text messages from an array of outlets that are somehow connected to candidates, the election winners will not be known until late in the evening or perhaps even later.

But while results are still hours away from being revealed, history has already shown that outcomes from the first Tuesday in November have lasting impacts.

In fact, the dates situated on that part of the calendar, including Nov. 3, have a history of their own.

As it turns out, some of the most influential politicians in Michigan’s history have registered significant victories on Nov. 3 — and many of these leaders have had deep connections to Detroit.

Following are seven political leaders that shaped Michigan's and Detroit's history who found luck Nov. 3:

Richard Austin: Elected Michigan’s Secretary of State on Nov. 3, 1970

Michigan’s first Black Secretary of State, Austin, the valedictorian of Cass Technical High School’s Class of 1931, was nearly Detroit’s first Black mayor after narrowly losing to Roman Gribbs in the city’s 1969 mayoral election.

Following Austin’s Secretary of State election victory, the Nov. 7, 1970, edition of the Michigan Chronicle – one of the oldest and longest-running African American newspapers in Michigan – proudly reported that “becoming a ‘first’ is nothing new for Austin. He was the first Black certified public accountant in Michigan, first Black County auditor and first Black to run for mayor in Detroit.”

Austin, a Democrat, would go on to become Michigan’s longest serving Secretary of State (1971-1994). He also became affectionately known to many Michiganders as “Mr. Traffic Safety” and was credited with streamlining voting across the state.

John Conyers Jr.: Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 3, 1964

The 1947 graduate of Northwestern High School served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 52 years, making him the longest-serving Black member of Congress in American history.

The Nov. 4, 1964, Detroit Free Press reported that Democrats Charles C. Diggs and Conyers, who was running in what was at the time Detroit’s new First District, easily defeated Republican rivals in two Detroit congressional districts. Conyers would become a civil rights icon, who co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus and pushed to establish a national holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Joseph Hunter Dickinson: Elected to the Michigan House of Representatives on Nov. 3, 1896

Born in Chatham, Ontario, but raised in Detroit, Joseph Hunter Dickinson became the second Black person to serve in the Michigan Legislature after William Webb Ferguson.

Dickinson, a Republican, was a state representative from 1897 to 1900. However, he is more known for his contributions to music and the arts, including an organ he designed which was awarded a prize at the Centennial Exposition hosted by Philadelphia in 1876.

Daisy Elliott: Re-elected to the Michigan House of Representatives on Nov. 3, 1964

A native of Filbert, West Virginia, Elliott moved to Detroit during the Great Migration and graduated from the Detroit Institute of Commerce in 1950. In 1961, Elliott, was one of only 11 women – along with 133 men – elected to the Michigan Constitutional Convention.

As a member of that body, she was instrumental in ensuring that the state’s new Constitution would establish a Michigan Civil Rights Commission with authority to investigate charges of discrimination based on race, religion, color or national origin and to enforce anti-discrimination laws.

First elected as a Michigan Congresswoman in 1962, Elliott served in the Michigan State Legislature for nearly 20 years, during which she was an effective voice for equality.

William Milliken: First elected to a full term as Michigan’s governor on Nov. 3, 1970

The Traverse City native did more than talk about working across the aisle, he demonstrated how it’s done through his actions.

After Milliken assumed the duties of Michigan’s governor on Jan. 22, 1969, following former Governor George Romney’s resignation to join President Richard Nixon’s cabinet, Milliken would go on to become Michigan’s longest-serving governor (Jan. 22, 1969 to Jan. 1, 1983).

And during that time, the Republican governor established an effective partnership with the man who would become Detroit’s longest serving mayor – Coleman Young, a former vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The collaboration between Milliken and Young was instrumental in Detroit being named the host city for the Republican National Convention in 1980, where Ronald Reagan was nominated as the party’s presidential candidate.

Frank Murphy: Elected Michigan’s governor on Nov. 3, 1936

Frank Murphy served as a judge on Detroit’s Recorder’s Court from 1924 to 1930, and during that time he presided over the murder trials of Dr. Ossian Sweet and his brother Henry Sweet, which established that Black Americans have the same constitutional rights as white Americans to defend their homes and families against violent mobs.

Murphy further distinguished himself while serving as Detroit’s mayor from 1930 to 1933. And as Michigan’s governor (Jan. 1, 1937 to Jan. 1, 1939), Murphy, a Democrat, mediated between the United Auto Workers and General Motors during the UAW’s sit-down strike at Fisher Body Plant #1 in Flint. The settlement paved the way for the national recognition of workers’ rights to organize unions.

George Romney: Won re-election as Michigan’s governor on Nov. 3, 1964

During a 134-day newspaper strike, which shut down the Free Press and Detroit News, Republican George Romney was re-elected as Michigan’s governor on Nov. 3, 1964, even as Democrats enjoyed victories across the state on the same day Lyndon Johnson won a landslide presidential victory over Republican Barry Goldwater.

Romney’s Detroit ties dated all the way back to his childhood days spent in the city’s Palmer Woods neighborhood. Romney’s Detroit pride also included being a major part of a team that pitched Detroit as the host city for the 1968 Summer Olympics, which was awarded to Mexico City.

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.