(CBS DETROIT) — Michigan Democrats claimed control of all chambers of state government for the first time in decades after the 2022 midterm elections. But Tuesday’s elections could potentially unravel the Democratic Party’s trifecta.
With all seats in the House of Representatives up for election this year, Democrats are now at risk of losing their two-seat majority, potentially hampering Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s ability to enact even more items on her priority list during the final two year of her current term of office. term.
In November 2023, two seats became available after state representatives. Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman won mayoral races in their hometowns. The vacancies eliminated the Democratic majority in the state House and left the House deadlocked at 54-54.
However, Democrats Mai Xiong and Peter Herzberg won the vacant seats in a special election earlier this year, allowing the party to maintain control until the November election.
Michigan is one of many states where the political balance of one or more chambers of the legislature could tip. Arizona, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are among the other targets for both parties.
Whitmer spent the first six years of her term working in a Republican-controlled Legislature, even clashing with lawmakers over her executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But under the Democratic-controlled Legislature over the past two years, significant legislation has been passed, including: expanding voting rights, improving gun safety and protecting LGBTQ+ people Residents.
Democrats focus on protecting reproductive rights as their means to control all facets of state government, even though access to abortion is enshrined in the state constitution. Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to convince voters that Democratic control at home and in Washington, DC, has eroded their pocketbooks and public safety.
If Republicans take over the Michigan House, Democrats will likely rush to pass a voting rights package and other legislation between Election Day and the swearing-in of the new Legislature.
