Overview:

-Republicans have secured control of the Michigan House, taking key congressional districts after President-elect Donald Trump spurred Republican turnout statewide.
- While Democrats retained some competitive seats, Republicans ousted several candidates advocating for environmental protections and utility accountability.
- Low voter turnout in Detroit likely contributed to Democratic losses. The Michigan League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups backed Democratic Supreme Court candidates Kimberly Ann Thomas and Kyra Harris Bolden, who won their races.
- Ann Arbor's proposal for a sustainable energy utility passed with 79% support.

Republicans won control of the Michigan House and will represent several closely watched congressional districts after president-elect Donald Trump drove Republican turnout across the state.

With Democrats losing their trifecta in Lansing, it may be difficult to advance environmental priorities like passing polluter pay bills or statewide water affordability legislation if lawmakers fail to do so before the new legislators take their seats.

Pollsters tell Planet Detroit that Harris’ failure to address economic concerns and the Biden administration’s Israel policy helped sink the Vice President’s campaign in Michigan. The election also brought out “infrequent MAGA voters,” which made the political landscape more difficult for Democratic candidates.

“My gut feeling is that she did not talk enough about inflation and how she’s going to cut taxes,” EPIC-MRA pollster Bernie Porn told Planet Detroit.

Porn said that opposition to Israel’s attack on Gaza also “played a very big role.” He noted that Green Party candidate Jill Stein received roughly 45,000 votes, over half of the votes Harris needed to pull even with Trump’s total in the state. Some Arab American voters had expressed support for Stein before the election, and she received over 7,000 votes in Dearborn, which has a large Muslim population.

Harris received roughly 15,000 votes in Dearborn, while Trump garnered nearly 18,000. Biden received 68% of the Dearborn vote in 2020.  

Porn said racism and sexism may have also played a role in voters’ unwillingness to support a Black woman as president. He said polling for such prejudices is impossible because voters won’t generally admit to them.

Ed Sarpolus, executive director of the Michigan polling firm Target Insyght, also identified relatively low voter turnout in Detroit as a contributing factor in Harris’ loss. Detroit’s turnout this year was 47.2%, several points below the 50.9% turnout in 2020.

Pro-environment candidates defeated in the House

Democrats held onto some highly competitive Michigan House seats, but Republicans defeated several candidates who have been vocal about supporting environmental protections and holding monopoly utilities accountable.

This includes Rep. Jaime Churches (D-Wyandotte), who lost to Republican Rylee Linting in a Michigan House race that attracted nearly $4 million in campaign spending. Churches advocated for holding polluters like BASF accountable and signed the Taking Back Our Power pledge to prevent investor-owned utilities like DTE Energy from making political donations.

Linting provided relatively few details about her policy positions beyond saying she supports “lower taxes,” “less government,” and “more freedom.” She received roughly 1,600 more votes than Churches, or about 3% of the vote.

Democrat Janise O’Neil Robinson also lost her bid to unseat Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) by roughly 4,300 votes or 9 percentage points. Robinson supported a transition to renewable energy as a potential job creator and promised to secure state infrastructure dollars for Downriver. Meanwhile, Thompson has generally opposed bills to add environmental protections and voted against Michigan’s 2023 renewable energy legislation.

Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Township) could offer a bright spot for Democrats if she beats Republican Dale Biniecki. At 5 p.m. Wednesday, with 91% of the vote counted, she had a nearly 3-point lead over Biniecki. 

Miller positioned herself as a champion in efforts to block radioactive waste, hazardous waste and landfill garbage from being sent to Michigan. She recently introduced a bill to block very low-level radioactive waste from being dumped in Michigan landfills.

Biniecki had criticized Democrats for passing Michigan’s 2023 renewable energy package, which gave the state the final say on permitting large renewable energy developments. He said he wanted to ensure “precious farmland isn’t used to power up urbanites’ electric vehicles.”     

Democrat representatives Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) and Mai Xiong (D-Warren) held onto their seats in competitive elections, while Jenn Hill (D-Marquette) lost her contest to Republican Karl Bohnak. Republicans were projected to hold 58 of Michigan’s 110 House seats. The Detroit Free Press has a full list of State House results.

U.S. Senate and House races a mixed bag

Results for national level races in Michigan were mixed, with U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) winning the race for the state’s open Senate seat and competitive U.S. House races split between the two major parties.

Electric vehicles became a point of contention in the contest between Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers. Rogers argued that EVs would kill American jobs, misrepresenting the impact researchers say they would have on employment.

Slotkin expressed support for EV manufacturing, arguing it was bringing jobs to places such as the GM assembly plant near downtown Lansing and helping the U.S. compete with China. Other environmental issues were largely absent from the race, which focused on inflation and abortion.

Republicans notched a win in the closely watched race between Republican Tom Barrett and Curtis Hertel for the 7th House District, which includes Lansing. John James (R-Shelby Township) defended his seat against Carl Marlinga in the 10th U.S. House District, which includes Warren.

Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet beat Republican Paul Junge in the contest for District 8, formerly represented by Dan Kildee (D-Flint Township). Planet Detroit has a full list of House general election results.

Democratic-nominated Supreme Court candidates win, Ann Arbor passes renewable energy ballot proposal

Kimberly Ann Thomas and Kyra Harris Bolden, the Democratic-nominated Michigan Supreme Court candidates, won their elections against Republican-nominated candidates, Andrew Fink and William O’Grady. The Michigan League of Conservation Voters and other environmental organizations endorsed both Thomas and Bolden.  

Meanwhile, Ann Arbor’s ballot proposal to create a sustainable energy utility passed with 79% of the vote. The SEU will allow residents and businesses to subscribe and receive some of their energy from rooftop solar and battery storage.

The city says the SEU will also finance energy efficiency upgrades for homeowners and could eventually incorporate community solar, geothermal energy, micro-grids or electricity sharing between houses. 

Greg Woodring, president of the Ann Arbor for Public Power, said the SEU could be a stepping stone to the full municipalization his group advocates for. However, he also worried it could dilute the momentum needed to establish a full municipal utility, which could better address energy reliability issues.

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Brian Allnutt is a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit. He covers the climate crisis, environmental justice, politics and open space.