Suburban women lead charge into Michigan Legislature
Across Michigan but largely in suburban areas, women grabbed a bigger voice in the state legislature: The number of women in the state senate will nearly triple (from four to 11) following Tuesday’s election. In the house, that figure will rise from 33 to 42 in January.
Much of the gains were seen in two areas: Oakland County and Metro Lansing. All 5 state reps in the Lansing area are now women, replacing five men. In Oakland County, women took over five house seats.
In the senate, 10 seats in Metro Detroit flipped from men to women.
In a couple cases, men took over seats held by women, including four state house seat and four senate seats. But those changes were swamped by the number of women taking over seats previously held by men.
The changes echo what was seen in the Michigan’s congressional delegation, where women picked up three seats to hold five of the 14 seats in Congress. Democrats Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, and Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn will soon be joined by fellow Dems Haley Stevens, Rochester Hills, Rashida Tlaib, Detroit, and Elissa Slotkin, Holly.
More election maps showing voting by Michigan counties:
- Chart: Democrats can thank more educated voters for swinging Michigan seats
- Gerrymandered districts help Republicans keep control of Michigan Legislature
- You’ll never guess which Michigan counties loved weed (Kidding, you will)
- Proposal to end gerrymandering resonated in red and blue Michigan
- Map: See how Gretchen Whitmer rolled to victory in Michigan governor race
More 2018 Michigan election coverage:
- Five takeaways from Michigan’s 2018 midterm election
- One woman’s Facebook post leads to Michigan vote against gerrymandering
- Overnight, it’s a new Michigan. Women sweep to power in change election.
- Michigan approves recreational marijuana. What you need to know.
- What Gretchen Whitmer promises to do as Michigan’s next governor
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