LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Special elections held in Wayne and Macomb counties today will determine the balance of Michigan’s House of Representatives.
In 2022, Michigan elected its first democratic majority in four decades. Both the State House and Senate, alongside the Attorney General, Secretary of State, and the Governor’s office have been controlled by Democrats for the past year.
Then, in November, the lawmakers for Michigan’s 13th and 25th House Districts took over mayoral seats, leaving the house at an even 54-54 split between Democrats and Republicans.
Abhi Rahman, Communications Director with the National Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee explained that though this election may seem small, they’re catching a lot of attention.
The election in Michigan’s 25th House District, which is made up of a few western suburbs of Detroit like Westland and Sheldon, is in Wayne County, which tends to lean Democratic. Eyes are on a potential shift in the race in the 13th House District, which is made up mostly of the city of Warren and is located in Macomb County. The seat still leans blue, but Macomb is historically a purple County leading some to think it might make the switch.
“Michigan is a shining example of what happens when you elect Democrats to state office. Under Governor Whitmer and the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate, the Michigan Democratic trifecta there has been a lot of progress made.” Rahman said. “You never know with special elections, they’re always kind of unpredictable. The biggest thing for us is we don’t want to take anything to chance, right? People say that these seats should lean Democratic, but you never know.”
Since the seats opened up in November, action in the House has been slow. Republican leaders have been pushing to draft a shared power agreement since the November election and said they will continue to do so if their numbers stay equal.
The legislature is expected to return to a normal pace if Democrats are elected in those districts.
Republicans being elected into both seats will make them the majority party in the House.
If one of the seats is filled by a Republican, the Democrats will remain the majority party but will lose their 2-seat voting advantage may cause movement to stall in the state House.
