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Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Detroit, Nov. 8.
Photo:
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
If Florida is an example of a state Republican Party governing well and building a majority, Michigan is the opposite. Wolverine State Republicans suffered an election wipeout Tuesday that leaves them without any legislative power for the first time in decades.
Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer
won re-election despite punishing schools closures, and state Democrats gained their first trifecta in about 40 years. Democrats picked up seats in the state Senate, flipping it to 20-18 Democrats from 22-16 Republicans. They also flipped the state House to 56-54 Democrats from 56-53 Republicans (with a vacancy). Republicans had a supermajority in the state Senate and a trifecta only four years ago.
Republicans nominated a weak candidate for Governor in
Tudor Dixon,
who played up to Donald Trump’s stolen 2020 election claims in the primary, which Democrats used against her and she lost by more than 10 points. Republicans lost a House seat in Grand Rapids after they ousted Rep.
Peter Meijer
in the primary for impeaching Mr. Trump.
John Gibbs
lost by 13.
Republicans in the Legislature also mishandled the abortion issue. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, they failed to pass a new law to replace a 1931 statute banning nearly all abortions. That left the way open for Proposal 3, which put abortion rights in the state constitution and passed Tuesday with 56.7% support with 95% of the vote reporting. Local news outlets reported that voter turnout was higher than expected across the state with hours-long lines in Democratic areas like Ann Arbor (home of the University of Michigan).
Republicans completed their humiliation as voters approved the measure the GOP put on the ballot easing the state’s term limits for politicians. Since 1992 the state has had term limits allowing three two-year terms in the state House, two four-year terms in the state Senate and two four-year terms for Governor.
Under the new regime, which passed with some 66% of the vote, the maximum number of years a lawmaker can serve in the Legislature is reduced to 12 from 14 but the practical effect is to increase the number of years a lawmaker can stay in one chamber. The measure will become law in time for Democrats to take advantage.
The election losses will have consequences, including for school choice. Supporters had gathered signatures to create educational savings accounts for low-income families to use on private tuition using what’s known in Michigan as a “citizen-initiated petition.” Under the Michigan constitution, the state lets voters propose laws directly and have them approved by the Legislature, without subjecting them to the Governor’s approval or veto.
Gov. Whitmer vetoed a similar measure last term, and school choice supporters had hoped that the measure could be approved directly by a Republican-controlled Legislature that supported it. Not anymore. Also look for union interests and Democrats to target the state’s right-to-work law that lets workers choose whether to join a union.
If they ever regain power, Lansing Republicans should consult their fellow party members in Tallahassee on how to keep it.
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Appeared in the November 12, 2022, print edition.
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