2020 Michigan House of Representatives election

An election was held on November 3, 2020 to elect all 110 members to Michigan's House of Representatives. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and State Senate.[1] The Michigan Democratic Party, which had been in the minority since 2010, failed to take back control of the chamber despite having hopes of doing so, and the Michigan Republican Party retained control of the chamber.[2][3]

2020 Michigan House of Representatives election

November 3, 2020
All 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives 56 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	66.36% 11.72 pp
Leader Lee Chatfield (term-limited) Christine Greig (term-limited) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 9, 2019 January 9, 2019 Leader's seat 107th District 37th District Seats before 58 52 Seats won 58 52 Seat change Popular vote 2,653,603 2,667,279 Percentage 49.60% 49.86% Swing 2.20% 2.27%
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain
Speaker before election Lee Chatfield Republican Elected Speaker Jason Wentworth Republican

Background

At the 2018 Michigan House of Representatives election, the Michigan Republican Party narrowly retained their majority on the chamber.[4]

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, elections proceeded as planned, though with a larger number of mail-in ballots than usual.

In October 2020, The Washington Post identified this state election as one of eight whose outcomes could affect partisan balance during post-census redistricting.[5]

Term-limited members

Under the Michigan Constitution, members of the state Senate are able to serve only two four-year terms, and members of the House of Representatives are limited to three two-year terms, some of the toughest term-limit laws in the country.[6]

Democrats

• LaTanya Garrett
• Wendell Byrd
• Vanessa Guerra

Republicans

• Kathy Crawford
• Larry C. Inman

Marginal districts

The following districts would be considered marginal seats.[7]

Republican-held targets

These Republican-held districts are the most vulnerable to Democratic challengers.

District	Incumbent	Held since	% to gain	Result
				Net	Elected Rep.
79th district	Pauline Wendzel	2019	11.36%	Republican Hold	Pauline Wendzel
17th district	Joe Bellino	2017	11.32%	Republican Hold	Joe Bellino
24th district	Steve Marino	2017	11.08%	Republican Hold	Steve Marino
94th district	Rodney Wakeman	2019	10.98%	Republican Hold	Rodney Wakeman
45th district	Michael Webber	2015	10.24%	Republican Hold	Mark Tisdel
93rd district	Graham Filler	2019	7.89%	Republican Hold	Graham Filler
99th district	Roger Hauck	2017	6.84%	Republican Hold	Roger Hauck
98th district	Annette Glenn	2019	4.06%	Republican Hold	Annette Glenn
61st district	Brandt Iden	2015	2.74%	Democratic Gain	Christine Morse
110th district	Gregory Markkanen	2019	1.64%	Republican Hold[8]	Gregory Markkanen
38th district	Kathy Crawford	2015	1.30%	Democratic Gain[2]	Kelly Breen
104th district	Larry C. Inman	2015	0.74%	Republican Hold[9]	John Roth

Democratic-held targets

These Democratic districts are the most vulnerable to Republican challengers.

District	Incumbent	Held since	% to gain	Result
				Net	Elected Rep.
50th district	Tim Sneller	2017	14.35%	Democratic Hold	Tim Sneller
40th district	Mari Manoogian	2019	13.10%	Democratic Hold	Mari Manoogian
96th district	Brian Elder	2017	13.02%	Republican Gain	Timothy Beson
23rd district	Darrin Camilleri	2017	12.52%	Democratic Hold	Darrin Camilleri
67th district	Kara Hope	2019	9.79	Democratic Hold	Kara Hope
48th district	Sheryl Kennedy	2019	9.66%	Republican Gain	David Martin
25th district	Nate Shannon	2019	8.08%	Democratic Hold	Nate Shannon
62nd district	Jim Haadsma	2019	3.70%	Democratic Hold	Jim Haadsma
20th district	Matt Koleszar	2019	2.84%	Democratic Hold	Matt Koleszar
41st district	Padma Kuppa	2019	2.64%	Democratic Hold	Padma Kuppa
71st district	Angela Witwer	2019	1.60%	Democratic Hold[10]	Angela Witwer
19th district	Laurie Pohutsky	2019	0.48%	Democratic Hold[11]	Laurie Pohutsky

Results by district

District 1

In the 1st district Democrat incumbent Tenisha Yancey won her primary unopposed on August 4. Latricia Ann Lanier will be her Republican rival.[12]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tenisha R. Yancey (incumbent)	12,373	100.0
Total votes			12,373	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Latricia Ann Lanier	2,568	100.0
Total votes			2,568	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tenisha R. Yancey (incumbent)	29,742	75.81%
	Republican	Latricia Ann Lanier	8,698	22.18%
	Libertarian	Gregory Creswell	785	2%
Total votes				100.0

District 2

In the 2nd district Joe Tate is running for re-election.[14]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Tate (incumbent)	9,775	68.96
	Democratic	Taylor Harrell	4,400	31.04
Total votes			14,175	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mayra Rodriguez	2,626	100.0
Total votes			2,626	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mayra Rodriguez
	Independent	DaNetta L. Simpson
	Democratic	Joe Tate (incumbent)
Total votes				100.0

District 3

Democrat Wendell Byrd, is standing down in the 3rd district due to term limits.[15]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shri Thanedar	4,745	34.91
	Democratic	Donavan McKinney	2,774	20.41
	Democratic	China Cochran	2,276	16.75
	Democratic	Al Williams	2,222	16.35
	Democratic	John Cromer	520	3.83
	Democratic	Art Tyus	468	3.44
	Democratic	Keith McMurtry	467	3.44
	Democratic	Steven Lett	120	0.88
Total votes			13,592	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Anita Vinson	191	100.0
Total votes			191	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Stephen Boyle
	Democratic	Shri Thanedar
	Republican	Anita Vinson
Total votes				100.0

District 4

Incumbent representative Isaac Robinson died in March 2020 of a suspected COVID-19 infection. 12 Democrats ran to succeed him, but Abraham Aiyash was elected as the Democrat nominee for the seat. Howard Weathington is the Republican nominee.[15]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abraham Aiyash	5,355	38.38
	Democratic	Michele Oberholtzer	1,945	13.94
	Democratic	Tawanna Simpson	1,518	10.88
	Democratic	Tonya Myers Phillips	1,417	10.16
	Democratic	Delorean Holmes	1,002	7.18
	Democratic	Shahab Ahmed	834	5.98
	Democratic	Christopher L Collins	655	4.69
	Democratic	Frazier H. Kimpson	515	3.69
	Democratic	Abraham D. Shaw	254	1.82
	Democratic	Anthony Ali	150	1.08
	Democratic	Sigmunt John Szczepkowski, Jr.	148	1.06
	Democratic	Gregory W. Reyner	97	0.70
	Democratic	Darwood Navarro	63	0.45
Total votes			13,953	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Howard Weathington	329	100.0
Total votes			329	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abraham Aiyash (incumbent)
	Independent	Md Rabbi Alam
	Working Class	Linda Rayburn
	Republican	Howard Weathington
Total votes				100.0

District 5

In the 5th district, Cynthia A. Johnson faced two Democratic challengers in the primary. Jermaine Tobey and Rita Ross, the sister of singer Diana Ross.[16] Johnson won her primary and will face Republican Harold Day in the general election.[15]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cynthia A. Johnson (incumbent)	4,858	65.04
	Democratic	Rita Ross	2,120	28.38
	Democratic	Jermaine R. Tobey	491	6.57
Total votes			7,469	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harold M. Day	205	100.0
Total votes			205	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Harold M. Day
	Democratic	Cynthia A. Johnson (incumbent)
Total votes				100.0

District 6

In the 6th district, Democrat Tyrone Carter is running for re-election in the general election unopposed. He won his primary election, beating challengers Ivy Nichole Neal and David Palmer. There was no Republican Primary held.[17]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tyrone Carter (incumbent)	8,163	62.50
	Democratic	Ivy Nichole Neal	2,624	20.09
	Democratic	David Palmer	2,273	17.40
Total votes			13,060	100.0

District 7

Democrat LaTanya Garrett, is standing down in the 7th district due to term limits.[15] Helena Scott is the Democrat candidate and Ronald Cole is the Republican candidate.[18]

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Helena Scott	5,504	36.59
	Democratic	Cynthia L. Thornton	2,770	18.41
	Democratic	Bernard Thompson	2,311	15.36
	Democratic	Lee Yancy	1,585	10.54
	Democratic	Anistia Thomas	1,580	10.50
	Democratic	Elene Robinson	716	4.76
	Democratic	Nyda Bentley	577	3.84
	Democratic	William Phillips (write-in)	1	0.01
Total votes			15,044	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ronald Cole	128	100.0
Total votes			128	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Anita Belle
	Republican	Ronald Cole
	Working Class	Kimberly Givens
	Democratic	Helena Scott
Total votes				100.0

District 8

Democrat Stephanie Young is the Democrat candidate in the 8th district. Incumbent Sherry Gay-Dagnogo did not run in the primary.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephanie A. Young	7,490	44.78
	Democratic	Reggie Reg Davis	5,214	31.17
	Democratic	George Etheridge	2,642	15.80
	Democratic	Anthony Bradford	1,380	8.25
Total votes			16,726	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Miroslawa Teresa Gorak	238	100.0
Total votes			238	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Miroslawa Teresa Gorak
	Democratic	Stephanie A. Young
Total votes				100.0

District 9

In the 9th district, Democrat Karen Whitsett is running for re-election.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Karen Whitsett (incumbent)	4,996	44.68
	Democratic	Rosyln M. Ogburn	3,437	30.74
	Democratic	Marc Cummings	2,032	18.17
	Democratic	Nicole Elcock	717	6.41
Total votes			11,182	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Stephens	309	100.0
Total votes			309	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Stephens
	Democratic	Karen Whitsett (incumbent)
Total votes				100.0

District 10

In the 10th district, Democrat Leslie Love is term-limited and unable to run for re-election.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Cavanaugh	5,250	29.44
	Democratic	Brenda Hill	4,119	23.10
	Democratic	Kevin Lamont Harris	3,674	20.60
	Democratic	Diajah Ruffin	1,418	7.95
	Democratic	Tyson Kelley	1,342	7.53
	Democratic	Marcus A. Cummings	1,089	6.11
	Democratic	Steele P. Hughes	735	4.12
	Democratic	Valli Smith	204	1.14
Total votes			17,831	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cathy L. Alcorn	1,694	100.0
Total votes			1,694	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Cathy L. Alcorn
	Democratic	Mary Cavanaugh
Total votes				100.0

District 11

In the 11th district, incumbent Democrat Jewell Jones is running for re-election.

Democratic Party[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jewell Jones (incumbent)	11,544	11544
Total votes			11,544	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James C. Townsend	4,156	100.0
Total votes			4,156	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jewell Jones (incumbent)
	Republican	James C. Townsend
Total votes				100.0

District 12

In the 12th district, incumbent Democrat Alex Garza is running for re-election.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alex Garza (incumbent)	9,046	76.50
	Democratic	Ed Martell	2,017	17.06
	Democratic	Derrick A. Gyorkos	762	6.44
Total votes			11,825	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michelle Bailey	4,273	100.0
Total votes			4,273	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michelle Bailey
	Democratic	Alex Garza (incumbent)
Total votes				100.0

District 13

In the 13th district, incumbent Democrat Frank Liberati is term-limited and unable to run for re-election.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tullio Liberati	4,997	41.39
	Democratic	Bill Colovos	3,866	32.02
	Democratic	Timothy O. Estheimer	3,209	26.58
Total votes			12,072	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Megan Frump	5,361	100.0
Total votes			5,361	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Megan Frump
	Democratic	Tullio Liberati
Total votes				100.0

District 14

In the 14th district, incumbent Democrat Cara Clemente is running for re-election.

Democratic Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cara A. Clemente (incumbent)	8,836	85.15
	Democratic	Senan Saleh	1,541	14.85
Total votes			10,377	100.0

Republican Primary[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Darrell Stasik	4,572	100.0
Total votes			4,572	100.0

General Election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cara A. Clemente (incumbent)
	Working Class	Simone R. Coleman
	Republican	Darrell Stasik
Total votes				100.0

District 19

In the 19th district, Democrat Laurie Pohutsky ran for re-election. Her Republican opponent was Martha Ptashnik.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Laurie Pohutsky (D)	Martha Ptashnik (R)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	47%	45%

Pohutsky narrowly won re-election[11]

District 23

In the 23rd district, Democrat Darrin Camilleri is seeking re-election.[19] He is being challenged by Republican John Poe.[20][21]

District 25

In the 25th district, Democrat Nate Shannon is running for re-election. His Republican opponent is Paul Smith.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Nate Shannon (D)	Paul Smith (R)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	48%	41%

District 38

In the 38th district, incumbent Republican Kathy Crawford was prevented from running for re-election due to term limits. Kelly Breen was elected as a Democrat in this Republican district.[22]

District 39

In the 39th district, incumbent Republican Ryan Berman is running for re-election.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Ryan Berman (R)	Julia Pulver (D)	Anthony Croff (L)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	43%	47%	2%

Hypothetical polling
Generic Democrat vs Generic Republican Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 1] Margin of error Generic Republican Generic Democrat Undecided Public Policy Polling/DLCC[upper-alpha 1] September 23–24, 2020 463 (V) ± 4.6% 45% 48% 7%

District 45

In the 45th district, incumbent Republican Michael Webber is not running for re-election.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Mark Tisdell (R)	Barb Anness (D)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	44%	45%

District 51

In the 51st district, incumbent Republican Mike Mueller is running for re-election against Democratic nominee Brad May, who defeated Conner Wallace in the primary on August 4th.[23] Wallace has since endorsed May's candidacy.[24]

District 61

Incumbent Republican Brandt Iden is term limited, making the 61st district an open seat.[25] The primaries occurred on August 4th and decided that Republican nominee Bronwyn Haltom is to running against an incumbent Kalamazoo County Commissioner, Christine Morse, as the Democratic nominee.[26][27]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Branwyn Haltom (R)	Christine Morris (D)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	41%	45%

Hypothetical polling
Generic Democrat vs Generic Republican Poll source Date(s) administered Sample size[lower-alpha 1] Margin of error Generic Republican Generic Democrat Undecided Public Policy Polling/DLCC[upper-alpha 1] September 23–24, 2020 532 (V) ± 4.3% 43% 48% 8%

District 62

Incumbent Democrat Jim Haadsma is running for re-election in the 62nd district against Republican nominee Dave Morgan.[28]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Jim Haadsma (D)	Dave Morgan (R)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	52%	39%

District 66

In the 66th district Beth Griffin is running for reelection.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Beth Griffin (R)	Abigail Wheeler (D)
Practical Political Consulting/Abigail Wheeler[upper-alpha 2]	Released Jul 10, 2020	–[lower-alpha 2]	–	53%	47%

District 71

In Michigan's 71st House of Representatives district, Democrat Angela Witwer was reelected.[10]

District 73

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Brian Posthumus (R)	Bill Saxton (D)
Target Insyght/MIRS News	Oct 20–22, 2020	300 (V)	± 5.7%	41%	40%

District 79

In the 79th district Pauline Wendzel is running for reelection.

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Pauline Wendzel (R)	Chokwe Pitchford (D)
Chokwe Pitchford[upper-alpha 3]	Released Jul 6, 2020	–[lower-alpha 2]	–	49%	51%

District 96

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Brian Elder (D)	Timothy Beson (R)
Target Insyght/MIRS News	Oct 20–22, 2020	300 (V)	± 5.7%	46%	47%

District 104

In the 104th district, incumbent Republican Larry Inman did not run for re-election due to term limits. District 104 was the number 1 target for the Democrats but was retained for the GOP by John Roth.[9]

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	John Roth (R)	Dan O'Neil (D)
Mitchell Research & Communications/MIRS	September 14–18, 2020	~ 300 (V)	± 5.6%	48%	40%

District 110

Gregory Markkanen was re-elected in the 110th district.[8]

See also

• 2020 Michigan elections
• 2020 United States state legislative elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Not yet released

Partisan clients

1. The DLCC exclusively supports Democratic candidates
2. Poll sponsored by Wheeler's campaign
3. Poll conducted by Pitchford's campaign

References

1. "SOS - Elections". www.michigan.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
2. Egan, Paul. "Republicans retain control of Michigan state House after both parties flip seats". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
3. "Can Democrats win back the Michigan House after a decade? ⋆ Michigan Advance". Michigan Advance. 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
4. [ "2018 Michigan House of Representatives election"] Check |url= value (help), Wikipedia, 2020-10-31, retrieved 2020-11-11
5. Phillips, Amber (October 2, 2020). "The state legislative battles to watch in 2020". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
6. "Michigan's Term Limits Are Toughest in Nation". The Ballenger Report. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
7. [ "2018 Michigan House of Representatives election"] Check |url= value (help), Wikipedia, 2020-09-27, retrieved 2020-09-27
8. "Incumbent Markkanen takes 110th District seat". miningjournal.net. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
9. "Republican John Roth earns state House seat in Grand Traverse County". mlive. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
10. "ELECTION: Rep. Angela Witwer returns for another term in 71st District". WLNS 6 News. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
11. "Livonia Democrat narrowly holds onto to Michigan House seat". mlive. 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
12. Square, Scott McClallen | The Center. "Some State House elections still undeclared for Districts 1-50". The Center Square. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
13. "2020 Michigan Official Primary Election Results". Michigan Secretary of State. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
14. "Joe Tate for State Rep". Joe Tate for State Rep. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
15. Egan, Paul. "Big spending Thanedar, sister of Diana Ross are among Detroit House primary candidates". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
16. "The Detroit News". www.detroitnews.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
17. "Primary Election Overview: 6th House District". Michigan Legislative Consultants. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
18. "2020 Michigan Official Primary Election Results - 08/04/2020". mielections.us. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
19. Twitter, Jim Kasuba jkasuba@medianewsgroup com; @JKasuba on. "State Rep. Darrin Camilleri announces re-election campaign for state representative seat". News-Herald. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
20. Bolthouse, Scott (2020-09-14). "Meet the candidates: John Poe running for state representative for the 23rd District". The Huron Hub - Huron Township News - New Boston News. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
21. "Home | Committee to Elect John Poe". Johnpoe. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
22. Hall, Christine Ferretti and Kalea. "Republicans take two key House races in Oakland County, Democrats win one". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
23. "Brad May". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
24. Wallace, Conner (August 11, 2020). "I want to endorse Brad May as a fellow progressive who I can trust to push forth policy changes that will help all working people not the billionaires". @conner_for. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
25. "Republicans face off for Michigan's 61st House District nomination". MLive. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
26. "Haltom declared victor in GOP primary race for 61st District state House seat". MLive. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
27. "Christine Morse". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
28. "Jim Haadsma". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 10, 2020.

External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Michigan", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Michigan: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Michigan". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Michigan at Ballotpedia