Democrats in control of Michigan House after Peter Herzberg, Mai Xiong projected winners in special election
(CBS DETROIT) — Michigan Democrats now have full control of the state House after Peter Herzberg and Mai Xiong were projected winners of Michigan's 25th and 13th districts, respectively, in a special election on Tuesday.
Xiong's district covers Warren and parts of Detroit, while Herzberg's district covers the cities of Wayne and Westland. The special elections come after former Reps. Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman were elected mayors of Warren and Westland in November 2023.
The vacancies put the House at 54-54.
Xong, a member of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, ran against Republican Ronald Singer, an engineer who was a nominee in the district in 2022.
Herzberg, a Westland City Council member, was elected against Republican Josh Powell, a U.S. Army veteran, and Robert Stano.
You can view the results below:
Since the House deadlocked, Republicans have pushed to pass legislation they say is bipartisan, such as a government transparency package, which would open the Legislature and governor's office up to public record requests.
With each Democratic candidate winning Tuesday, the party will regain control through the end of the year, with every seat in the House up for reelection in November.
Lawmakers are now expected to turn their focus to a state budget with a self-imposed July 1 deadline. Whitmer, in her annual State of the State speech in January, called on lawmakers to pass a $80 billion budget that would provide free community college for all high school graduates and free preschool for 4-year-olds.