Contours of the fight over control of the Michigan House will start to take shape on Tuesday

Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas

In a year marked by combative battles from the presidential race down to local elections, many Michigan House candidates running in partisan primaries on Tuesday have launched fiery campaigns to clinch their party’s nomination.

After candidates are weeded out, the November election will determine partisan control of the state House next year, as all 110 seats are up for election. The state Senate isn’t on the ballot until 2026.

Currently, Democrats hold their first bicameral control of the Michigan Legislature in 40 years. The last time Democrats were in charge of the Michigan House before the current majority was 2010.

Democrats gained a slim majority in the House in the 2022 election 56-54. That margin proved delicate when two Democrats House members stepped down after winning mayoral races in their districts in November 2023.

Until an April special election, the House had an even 54-54 split that put a bottleneck on most legislation passing. Democrats won the special elections, restoring their previous 56-54 majority.

Democrats win mayoral races in Westland and Warren — and temporarily lose Michigan House majority

Republicans see an opening to retake the chamber after Democrats passed a slew of progressive legislation, including new laws for gun reform, abortion rights, clean energy, labor rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

“While Republicans are unified around creating a better future for America, Lansing Democrats continue to be in disarray by supporting the very policies that have handcuffed hardworking Michiganders that continue to put them last,” said Mason Di Palma, spokesperson for the Republican State Leadership Committee. “While Democrats have no message for the American people, the choice is clear this November: if we want a stronger, better Michigan we have to elect state Republicans.”

There are several dynamics going on in primaries. Half of Michigan House members this year are freshmen in the House and many incumbents are facing primary challenges — some serious.

Lawmakers are longer hamstrung by tight term limits. When voters passed term limits in 1992, legislators could only serve a maximum of three, two-year terms in the House and two, four-year terms in the Senate. Thanks to reforms voters passed in 2022, lawmakers can spend a total of 12 years in the Legislature — and so several incumbents seem interested in spending six terms in the House.

Redistricting is also a factor. New maps drawn by the new independent redistricting panel were in effect for the 2022 election, which created more competitive districts than in the past when the Legislature was responsible for crafting districts and the governor signed off.

But some metro Detroit districts recently redrawn due to a federal court order, so this will be the first election those lines, which many believe are more favorable to Republicans, will be in effect.

But House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) said last month that he’s confident that Democrats will keep control of the House.

“Without wavering, our members and supporters have stepped up to keep Democrats in the majority,” said Tate. “We are carrying this momentum into 2024 and will continue to build on our success.”

Here’s a look at key House primary races on Tuesday:

Republican primaries

27th District

In 2022, Rep. Jaime Churches (D-Wyandotte) won the seat to represent Wyandotte and the surrounding area by around 600 votes. It was one of the several close elections that secured the Democrats’ majority in the House, but the Republican voter base in the area has been stronger in recent years. Churches is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, just as she did in 2022.

Three Republicans are vying to face her in November: Gibraltar City Councilman Cody Dill , Turning Point Action representative Rylee Linting and Maria Mendoza-Boc of Gibraltar.

36th District

Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers), a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, is facing two opponents in his bid for reelection.

Frank Perez, mayor of Sturgis, has thrown his hat in the ring to represent the district that includes part of Cass County and all of St. Joseph County, both safely Republican voting areas.

Michael Malmborg, a teacher in the district, has several mentions of bridging political divides on his campaign website and portrays himself as a candidate working “towards a future that embraces both tradition and transformation.”

42nd District

House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) has one GOP challenger. In 2022, Hall received more than 70% in the Republican primary.

Rich Cutshaw is seeking to unseat Hall, who he says has failed in his job leading Republicans in the House by doing things like speaking in support of Rep. Joe Tate (D-Detroit) when he became speaker of the House. Cutshaw and other parents at Vicksburg community Schools in Kalamazoo County joined former Michigan attorney general GOP nominee Matthew DePerno in a lawsuit against Vicksburg Community High School for allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice .

50th District

Rep. Bob Bezotte (R-Howell) is running for reelection to represent Livingston County residents after announcing in January that he would not be seeking another term in the seat. Now he’s facing the two candidates he endorsed for the job.

Bezotte, the former Livingston County sheriff, announced he wouldn’t seek reelection a month after his wife of 51 years filed for divorce on the grounds of “mental, emotional and physical abuse” throughout the marriage — which Bezotte denies.

Before reentering the race, Bezotte endorsed Jason Wollford , a Marine Corps veteran who leads an organization that sends Bibles overseas and Kristina Lyke, a lawyer who is running to fight “ the radical left .”

Dominic Restuccia , a former staffer for U.S. Sen. for Michigan Mike Lee and U.S. Rep. for Michigan Mike Bishop is also in the running for the Livingston County seat.

51st District

Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) is running for reelection in a safely Republican segment of Oakland County.

In 2022, Maddock was removed from the House GOP caucus amid reports that he had revealed details from confidential meetings. Maddock and his wife, former Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, are former President Donald Trump loyalists, with Meshawn facing several felonies in court on charges from the state attorney general’s office for signing false documents certifying Trump as the winner of Michigan’s electoral votes in 2020.

Rep. Maddock’s Republican challenger is Kevin Ziegler , serves on city council for Milford and calls Maddock, ““Mad Dog” Maddock” on his campaign site, calling attention to Maddock’s no vote on a bill in 2023 to eliminate protections for spousal rape. Additionally, Ziegler blasts Maddock for an incident in March where Maddock posted pictures to his X account of a plane at Detroit Metro Airport saying the passengers were illegally entering the country. It was in fact the Gonzaga University basketball team arriving in Michigan for the NCAA Sweet 16 Midwest Regional basketball tournament.

64th District

There are five Republicans vying for the conservative-leaning Port Huron area seat as Rep. Andrew Beeler (R-Port Huron) is stepping down from seeking reelection after two terms. One is a familiar name: former state Rep. Gary Eisen (R-St. Clair Shores), who lost his committee assignments after supporting what Attorney General Dana Nessel called “ open sedition ” after Trump lost the 2020 election.

St. Clair County Commissioner Jorja Baldwin is also in the race, as well as Dan Geiersbach of Port Huron, Ryan Maxon of Smiths Creek and Joseph Pavlov of Kimball Township.

66th District

Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) was stripped of his office staff, House funds and committee assignment after making social media posts in February promoting the “Great Replacement” theory often touted by white nationalist movements.

Although Schriver had the support of members of the Freedom Caucus, not all his Republican colleagues sided with him, with Rep. Donni Steele (R-Orion Twp.) and Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) commenting at the time that Schiver’s words take away from the goals of the party.

Former Royal Oak City Commissioner Randy LeVasseur is Schriver’s only challenger in the Republican-dominated district.

67th District

Rep. Phil Green (R-Millington) is running for reelection for the strongly GOP seat in Lapeer and Genesee counties.

Green has two Republican challengers, one of whom, Sherri Cross , ran for the seat in 2022. Cross comes from a law enforcement background, having served as deputy sheriff for Sumter County, Florida in the 80s. The other Republican in the race, Sherry Marden , currently serves as a trustee in Richfield Township.

71st District

Rep. Brian BeGole (R-Antrim Twp.) who previously served as Shiawassee County sheriff is seeking reelection and will be defending his seat from Kevin Rathbun, who he beat out for the Republican nomination on the 2022 ballot.

Rathbun is an army veteran who in 2022 was endorsed by Trump over BeGole and other Republicans in the race.

78th District

Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Odessa) is running for reelection in the district which includes parts of Eaton, Barry, Kent and Ionia counties and the race has gotten heated

Johnsen is being challenged by Jon Rocha, a conservative activist in Michigan who was endorsed by Trump during his 2022 run for the state House.

103rd District

Traverse City had a long history of Republican representation in the House until Rep. Betsy Coffia (D- Traverse City) was elected to the newly drawn district in 2022. The new map split Traverse City, which has a high number of Democratic voters compared to the rest of the area. Coffia’s margin came down to less than 800 votes.

Now there are three Republicans looking to flip the district. Tripp Garcia of Traverse City is running to create affordable housing in northern Michigan, implement workforce development programming and make health care for elderly residents more affordable.

Katie Kniss of Traverse City is running as a “ Mama Bear ” interested in ending critical race theory curricula in schools, standing against vaccine mandates and supporting anti-abortion policies.

Lisa Trombley of Traverse City is a former government contractor who is running to put families struggling to afford basic costs of living first before special interest groups.

Kniss and Trombley both serve in leadership positions in the Grand Traverse County Republican Party.

105th District

Northern Michigan Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord) is looking to keep his seat, facing a challenge in the primary from former Antrim County Commissioner Christian Marcus.

107th District

Rep. Neil Friske (R-Charlevoix), one of the most conservative members of the Michigan House, is currently being investigated by police on sexual assault, assault and weapons-related offenses, but no charges have been filed. Friske was arrested in June and says he’s being “framed,” agreeing with a GOP radio host that U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) is working against him .

Bergman has thrown his support behind Friske’s opponent, Parker Fairbairn, who chairs the Emmet County Republican Party. Both Friske and Fairbairn have roots at family farms in northern Michigan, with Fairburn securing the Michigan Farm Bureau AgriPac’s endorsement.

109th District

A slate of Republican challengers are vying in the Marquette-area seat in the Upper Peninsula for the chance to knock off Rep. Jenn Hill (D-Marquette) in November.

Former police officer Melody Wagner has won the Republican primary for the seat for three straight election cycles.

The other candidates are George Meister of Meister’s Tree Farms in Marquette; Burt Mason , who serves on the board of directors of the Baraga County Chamber of Commerce; and Karl Bohnak who had a career as a meteorologist in the Upper Peninsula.

Democratic primaries

5th District

Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), a former public school teacher and Oak Park City councilwoman, is running again to represent Oak Park and the surrounding area in the new 5th District, having previously represented the now-redrawn 6th District.

One of her Democratic opponents, Kevin Keys III, also has a background in education as a teacher, his campaign site says.

Eric Love founded and is the pastor of Covenant of Love Ministries International in Berkley. Love and Weiss are the only candidates for the 5th District that have the endorsement of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan .

Crystal Bailey is a former vice president on Oak Park School Board and is running her campaign to fight the mental health crisis in Michigan, curb gun violence and fund public education.

7th District

House Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) will not be running to represent the new 7th District encompassing Hamtramck and part of Detroit.

One of the candidates, Ernest Little, ran to represent Detroit in 2022 in the 8th District unsuccessfully. Efforts that successfully got the House districts redrawn cited Little’s loss to his white counterpart Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) in the 2022 primary as an example of the voting maps being drawn in such a way that Black voting power was subdued .

Abraham Shaw runs an automotive repair service and works in youth programming in a church, according to his campaign site .

Tonya Phillips Myers, an attorney, has secured key endorsements , according to her campaign site, including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), the Michigan Education Association, as well as Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and several members of the City Council.

13th District

Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren) will defend her seat representing Warren, Roseville and St. Clair Shores after winning a special election for the empty seat in April, having previously served as a Macomb County commissioner .

Patricia Singleton Johnson, a former Detroit Public Schools Board of Education member is running for the seat.

Richard Steenland of Roseville served the Michigan House from 2021 to 2022 but lost his bid to again represent Roseville to Rep. Kimberly Edwards (D-Eastpointe) in the Democratic primary in 2022 by about 300 votes.

14th District

Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) is aiming to keep representing Madison Heights and Hazel Park, but faces a battle from the Warren portion of the district against the former longtime Warren mayor, Jim Fouts.

McFall is finishing up his first term in the House, previously serving on the Hazel Park City Council.

Fouts made several unsuccessful attempts in courts to be allowed to run for mayor for a fifth term, after serving 16 years and surpassing the city’s term limits that voters approved in 2020. Having spent more than 40 years serving in Warren city government, Fouts is a fixture in the area, but McFall has questioned his commitment to Democratic principles.

25th District

Rep. Peter Herzberg (D-Westland), who won a special election to represent Westland in April, faces several Democratic challengers in the primary.

Melandie Hines who serves on the Wayne-Westland Community Schools board is running for the seat. Layla Taha, a health policy professional and program director for Tlaib, is on the ballot.

Westland residents Salif Kourouma and Lekisha Maxwell are running as Democrats, as well.

26th District

Freshman Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) who comes from a teaching and labor organizing background, gaining endorsements from several related organizations . He isdefending his seat against Inkster City Council member DeArtriss Richardson-Coleman.

77th District

Rep. Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing), a longtime LGBTQ+ activist, is running for reelection against Lansing Community College Board of Trustees Chair Angela Mathews.

109th District

Rep. Jenn Hill (D-Marquette) is facing competition for the Upper Peninsula seat from Margaret Brumm, vice chair of the Marquette Board of Water and Light, and Randy Girard, who serves on the Marquette County Road Commission.

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