- Michigan Democrats once again won a legislative trifecta, not only flipping the House of Representatives but also increasing their majority in the Senate.
- With some election results still pending, it appears House Democrats will hold a majority of at least 60 seats.
- Senate Democrats, meanwhile, will likely have a 23-15 majority by the time all elections are called — their largest margin in decades.
LANSING — For only the second time in more than four decades, Democrats will control both chambers of the Michigan Legislature after flipping the House of Representatives and increasing their majority in the state Senate, according to unofficial election results.
With Jocelyn Benson also winning the gubernatorial race, Democrats are poised to have a governing “trifecta” in Lansing for the next two years, a power they last enjoyed in the 2023-24 session.
Of the House’s 110 seats, Democrats gained at least 60 seats, in part by ousting at least five Republican incumbents, with several election results still pending. And in the 38-member Senate, Democrats increased their majority from 20 to 23 seats, ousting two incumbent Republican Party candidates.
That will give Democrats their largest majority in the Michigan Senate since 1982, according to subscription news service Gongwer.
“Our Democratic trio will go to Lansing and pass a voting rights law for the state of Michigan to ensure that every citizen of this state is protected at the polls in every election,” Benson promised early Wednesday morning in a victory speech.
The last time Democrats held total power, they moved quickly to pass gun reforms, clean energy laws and protections for union and gay rights.
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Democrats told Bridge last month to expect a recall, this time focusing on affordability, containing drug costs and housing affordability. Benson promised a new tax on vacation rentals and tax subsidies for starter home construction.
Not only will Democrats control the Legislature and governor, but Tuesday’s vote helped ensure they will maintain control of the state Supreme Court, college boards, the State Board of Education, and the secretary of state and attorney general.
“Voters gave us a mandate to tackle the cost of living crisis head-on,” Sen. Darrin Camilleri, a Trenton Democrat, said Wednesday.
Return the house
Democrats entered Election Day with a 52-58 minority in the House of Representatives — and were able to defend their incumbents, while also overturning several hotly contested elections.
In the 55th House district, state Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, lost by about 4 percentage points to Democrat Alex Hawkins, a U.S. Army veteran.
Tisdel has been in office since 2021 and won reelection by 4 to 7 percentage points, although Democrats like incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won by double-digit margins.
Other Republican House incumbents ousted Tuesday night included Rylee Linting in Wayne County’s 27th District and Jamie Thompson in the 28th District, which includes parts of Monroe and Wayne counties.
Steve Frisbie in Calhoun County’s 44th District and David Martin in the 68th District, which includes parts of Genesee and Oakland counties, also lost their re-election bids.
Democrats also defended the 61st District, where incumbent Rep. Denise Mentzer held off a challenge from Republican Robert Wojtowicz.
By all precinct reports, Mentzer was re-elected to the Macomb County seat by more than 5,000 votes, besting her 2024 contest, also against Wojtowicz, where she was re-elected by only a few hundred votes.
Republicans have invested heavily in this district, as have Democrats, with cumulative spending exceeding at least $863,000 between the two major parties, according to the Capitol research service, MIRS News.
Significant gains for House Democrats on Tuesday include:
- House District 27: Former Democratic state Rep. Jaime Churches beat Linting by about 1,641 votes, according to unofficial totals Wednesday. Linting flipped Churches in 2024 by about 2,300 votes and was part of Republicans’ successful campaign to end the 2022 Democratic trio.
- House District 46: Democrat Jan Maino unseated incumbent Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, for control of a House district that includes parts of Jackson and Washtenaw counties. Republicans spent a lot of money on Schmaltz, who lost to Maino by more than 2,800 votes.
- House Neighborhood 54: Democrats picked up one of two open seats this cycle, with Democrat Sarah Pounds defeating Republican Roman Gaskey in the Oakland County district. Republican Rep. Donni Steele currently holds the seat, but chose not to seek re-election, instead running successfully for the State Senate.
Keep the Senate
In October, Senate Republicans and Democrats told Bridge there were five races to watch on election night that could determine control of the chamber.
Of those, Democrats won four and appear poised to win the last one, according to unofficial vote totals Wednesday.
If they get all five seats, it would give Democrats a 23-15 seat majority over Republicans in the state Senate — the largest margin in nearly 50 years.
Based on unofficial results, competitive districts won by Democrats include:
- Senate District 9: Democrat Theresa Brooks ousted incumbent Sen. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, by nearly 8,300 votes. Webber won the seat by just 795 votes out of 115,111 in 2022. The district includes parts of Oakland and Macomb counties.
- Senate District 12: Incumbent Sen. Kevin Hertel, a Democrat from Saint Clair Shores, defended his seat against Republican John Goldwater by more than 9,000 votes. Hertel won the seat by just 404 votes out of 125,140 in 2022. The district includes parts of Wayne, Macomb and St. Clair counties.
- Senate District 13: Democrat Sean Carlson defeated former Republican Rep. Ryan Berman by nearly 8,200 votes. The district, which includes part of Oakland County, was an open seat after incumbent Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, opted not to run for reelection.
- Senate District 30: Incumbent Sen. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, fell to state Rep. Carol Glanville by more than 13,400 votes. Huizenga won the seat by just 391 votes out of 129,633 in 2022. The district includes parts of Kent and Ottawa counties.
- Senatorial District 32 has still not been called, although Democrat Rebecca Amidon appears likely to beat Republican Kim Cole for a vacant seat vacated by term-limited state Sen. Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon.
Unofficial results show Amidon leading Cole by more than 13,400 votes, with 88 percent of the district’s precincts at press time. Bumstead won the district by about 5 percentage points in 2022, and Democrats believe his departure gives them a good chance to close that gap.
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