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    • Michigan has a number of competitive House races
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    Michigan has a number of competitive House races

    Umito Posted on

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    In the November 2022 election, Governor Gretchen Whitmer won re-election and Democrats took the House and Senate out of GOP control for the first time in 40 years. This fall’s elections will decide the fate of the Democratic trio.

    With their new power in Lansing, Democrats repealed Michigan’s Right to Work Law and abortion restrictions. They overhauled Michigan’s tax system to provide relief for retirees and people on low incomes. They passed gun safety measures And protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders. They set a clean energy goal and succeeded school budgets which include free meals for students.

    Republicans campaigned against business subsidies approved by Democrats to attract new electric vehicle-related jobs to the state. They also denounced Democratic opposition to creating a temporary suspension. income tax reduction permanent. They destroyed the most recent school budget it included no increase in per-pupil funding and new energy laws that give state regulators the power to override local zoning laws to install green energy projects.

    “It’s going to be very close,” Adrian Hemond, CEO of Lansing-based consulting firm Grassroots Midwest, said of the race for control of the State House. The possibility of a tie in the House is not out of the question, Hemond said: “I actually think it’s a reasonably likely outcome.”

    Michigan is a battleground state for the presidential election. But the outcome of state legislative elections can also have a big impact on the lives of Michiganders. State legislators create the state budget. They help set Lansing’s political agenda, from housing to criminal justice. They provide oversight of the state government. And their offices are often a direct conduit from residents to state government, Hemond said.

    But the top of the ticket often impacts elections down. In 2022, Democrats running for the state House benefited from Whitmer’s strong performance. Whitmer won by a margin of nearly 11 percentage points that year. An abortion rights measure was also on the ballot two years ago and received nearly 57 percent of the vote. This time, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, appears to face a tighter race than Whitmer for governor and there is no statewide proposals.

    Multiple competitive districts in play

    Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the Michigan House of Representatives. There are 110 seats in the State House. Democrats hold 56 of those seats and Republicans hold 54 of them. In one of 2022’s tightest races, for example, if just 331 votes had gone to Republican House candidate Bob Howey instead of state Rep. Jaime Churches, D-Wyandotte, it would have prevented a Democratic majority in the House.

    The Democratic Party currently holds a two-seat majority, but it cannot afford to lose a single vote to united Republican opposition because a bill requires the support of a majority of elected and sitting members. So, in order to regain control of the State House, Republicans must flip two seats from blue to red.

    A dozen neighborhoods — perhaps more — appear to be in play. From metro Detroit to Marquette, districts with tight House races dot the state and could decide which party takes control. All but one state House seat is up for grabs: State Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, who represents a safe Democratic district, has no opponent.

    With their legacy on the line, governors hit the trail

    Former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has hit the road to campaign for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. During this election cycle, he supported GOP fundraising efforts.

    “It’s great to be back in action to help House Republicans win a majority this election cycle,” Snyder told a room full of Republican lawmakers and their supporters during a stop on Oct. 24 in Rochester, in Republican state Rep. Mark Tisdel’s district. “It’s about bringing Michigan back again.” Tisdel, of Rochester, faces Democrat Trevis Harrold in the competitive Oakland County district.

    Whitmer – who succeeded Snyder – was nearby that day to host her own event to promote Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives. “We are here because we know that the average individual, the average small business owner, is always looking for new opportunities to find their path to prosperity and to take care of their family and their employees,” she said during a stop in Rochester. , according to a story about Gongwer event. “We’ve done a lot of good work, but there’s still more work to do.”

    Whitmer reversed several Snyder-era policies. “I don’t take it personally,” Snyder told reporters at the Oct. 24 event in Rochester. But he said he’s generally worried about the direction the state is heading, which he said is what prompted him to join the House Republicans’ campaign.

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    Top ticket dynamics

    But unlike Whitmer — who is national co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign — Snyder doesn’t want to talk about the presidential race. Snyder supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. But he won’t publicly say who he’s voting for this time.

    “Because it would distract from my work for the Michigan House,” Snyder said.

    Whitmer’s event in Rochester had just ended as the prominent former Republican politician prepared to head to the next leg of the campaign. At Whitmer’s event, one memento was left: a foam hand in the shape of Michigan bearing the name of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

    Contact Clara Hendrickson: [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, formerly called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

    Looking to learn more about Michigan’s elections this year? Check out our voter’s guidesubscribe to our election newsletter and feel free to share your thoughts in any way letter to the editor.

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