Michigan Democrats could grow their majority in the state House this fall
All 110 Michigan House of Representatives seats are on the Nov. 5 ballot.
All 110 Michigan House of Representatives seats are on the ballot in the Nov. 5 election, presenting Democrats with an opportunity to grow their narrow majority or giving Republicans a chance to take back control of the chamber after two years in the backseat.
There are no uncontested House races this fall as there is a Democrat and Republican running in each district and there are eight open seats without an incumbent, according to August primary results.
Michigan’s 38 Senate seats and the governor’s office won’t be on the ballot again until 2026, meaning that the results of the November election could either extend the Democratic trifecta or cause the state government to be split with a Republican House majority.
Michigan’s government has been fully under Democratic rule since Democrats swept the 2022 midterm election and gained a two-seat majority in both the state Senate and state House, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was reelected. Their win was attributed to high voter turnout in support of an abortion ballot initiative and redistricting, a process which had been in the hands of the Legislature and controlled by Republicans until 2018.
In this year’s general election, there are no statewide ballot initiatives and the district lines were redrawn again this past February, six years ahead of schedule, due to a court mandate. There’s also a presidential race in the mix, which typically draws more voters to the polls than in midterm elections.
State Rep. Joe Tate, a Detroit Democrat and Michigan’s first Black Speaker of the House, has been leading the House Democrats campaign efforts this fall. Multiple attempts to reach Tate through a campaign spokesperson for this story were unsuccessful.
The day his caucus chose him to guide the chamber, however, Tate foreshadowed what Michiganders could expect from a Democratic majority this term, MLive reported.
“I think you saw the message that we talked about, our values, over the campaign trail for most of the year,” Tate said. “So, there won’t be any surprises, because we’ve been talking about Democratic values for years.”
In the approximately two years since then, Democrats have passed some of their long sought priorities around abortion access, LGBTQ rights and gun control.
Ryan Bates, executive director of End Gun Violence Michigan, has been a community organizer working on the issue of gun violence in Michigan for roughly 20 years. He credited Whitmer and Democratic legislators for addressing issues that matter to their constituents.
“Under the leadership of Governor Whitmer, House and Senate Democrats passed a set of comprehensive measures to protect our schools, protect our families and protect our communities,” Bates said. “Every single thing our movement called upon our Democratic leaders to do, they did.”