In two of the nation's most-watched congressional races,
Michigan voters
sent Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Stabenow to the U.S. Senate, but
Republican Mike Rogers to replace her in the House. More important for
Michigan's business community, the GOP retained control of the Michigan
House and the state Supreme Court - the biggest prizes of all.
-Congresswoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) was declared the
winner over
incumbent U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Auburn Hills) by the Associated
Press shortly after 5 a.m., making her the first woman U.S. senator in
Michigan history. She'll join New York's Hillary Clinton in narrowing
Republican control of the Senate. As of 8 a.m., however, Stabenow had
refused to claim victory, waiting for the final votes from Detroit to be
counted.
-In her bid to succeed Stabenow in the U.S. House's 8th
District, State Sen..
Diane Byrum (D-Onondaga) declared victory shortly after midnight. But by 7
a.m., news organizations declared State Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) the
winner. His final, unofficial margin of victory was 500+ votes. The race
drew intense national attention and enabled congressional Republicans to
offset any House loss elsewhere. The Rogers-Byrum matchup was the state's
only open congressional race. All House incumbents won re-election, meaning
Michigan's new congressional split will be 9-6 in favor of Democrats.
-The state Supreme Court remained under GOP control as the three
Republican-backed incumbents bucked the trend of bottom-of-ticket races
following the presidential vote (Gore carried Michigan 51-47, with exit
polls showing 44 percent of all voters identifying themselves as union
households). Justices Clifford Taylor, Stephen Markman and Robert Young won
re-election to the high court in one of the lowest, mud-slinging campaigns
in court history. Although justices run as non-partisan, they are nominated
by political parties. Republican Governor John Engler made retaining control
of the court one of his top priorities.
-Michigan Republicans, who already control the governor's
office and state
Senate, appeared to have retained control of the state House by the same
58-52 margin they currently hold (at least 56 were confirmed as of 8 a.m.).
It's the first time since 1960-62 that Republicans have won back-to-back
majorities in the lower chamber. GOP control of the governor's office,
House
and Senate puts the party firmly in control of redistricting - with the
Supreme Court as backup.
-Michigan voters also overwhelmingly defeated two statewide
ballot proposals
to provide state vouchers to students in failing school districts and to
require a two-thirds vote of the state legislature on measures affecting
local control.
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Specific comments or questions regarding this bulletin should
be directed to:
Peter Kuhnmuench, MRA's Vice President of Governmental
Affairs at pkuhnmuench@retailers.com.
Michigan Retailers Association
603 South Washington Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: 517.372.5656
Toll Free: 800.366.3699
Fax: 517.372.1303
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here to find more information about any of the bills referenced above.