DETROIT, Mich. — Democrats took back the Michigan House and held onto the state Senate on Tuesday, putting the party in charge of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office for the first time since 2024.
Early Wednesday unofficial returns gave Democrats 19 Senate seats to 14 for Republicans and 51 House seats to 43, with more races still being counted. Later projections pointed to an expanded 23-15 Senate majority, up from the current 20-18 split, and 60 or more of the 110 House seats. Republicans won the House 58-52 in 2024.
The new trifecta pairs a Democratic Legislature with Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson, who takes office Jan. 1. Party leaders called it only the second such run of full control in 40 years; the first came after the 2022 election, when Democrats repealed the state right-to-work law, wrote new gun rules and passed a clean energy law before losing the House.
House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri of Canton is expected to become speaker, replacing Republican Speaker Matt Hall of Richland Township. If his caucus picks him, Puri would be the first Indian American and Sikh to lead the Michigan House.
Senate Democrats need a new leader as well. Majority Leader Winnie Brinks is leaving the chamber to serve as lieutenant governor, though the job makes her Senate president and gives her the tie-breaking vote. Brinks said the Senate will make a Michigan Voting Rights Act its first priority, while House Democrats said lowering everyday costs comes first, ahead of transparency measures such as extending the Freedom of Information Act to the governor’s office and the Legislature.
Divided government over the last two years produced few big laws beyond a large road funding agreement. Democratic candidates ran mostly on cost of living and on President Donald Trump’s policies, while Republicans attacked the party’s record on schools and the economy.
Section: More Lansing MI politics news
Filed under: Lansing MI Politics News
