Michigan Democrats win special elections to regain full control of state government

by: JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press

Posted: Apr 16, 2024 / 09:55 PM EDT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democrats won back a majority in the Michigan House and restored their party’s full control of state government Tuesday thanks to victories in two special elections.

Mai Xiong won the special election in the 13th District, which covers Warren and part of Detroit, while Peter Herzberg won in the 25th District, which contains the cities of Wayne and Westland. Both candidates were favorites in the heavily Democratic districts.

The lower chamber has been tied 54-54 between Democratic and Republican lawmakers since November, when two Democratic representatives vacated their seats after winning mayoral races in their hometowns.

Democrats flipped both chambers in the 2022 midterms while maintaining control of the governor’s office to win a trifecta for the first time in 40 years. They moved quickly to roll back decades of Republican measures and implement the party’s agenda in their first year, including overhauling the state’s gun laws.

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