The wild midterm election cycle ended with Democrats standing tall, even in long-standing Republican strongholds like Midland.
While some predicted a “red wave” of Republican victory, Michigan voters delivered a “blue wave” that would change the state’s political landscape.
In a storm of anger over the Roe v. Wade loss and concerns about voting rights, Democrats won the Michigan legislature and governor’s office, clearing the confusion for the first time in almost 40 years that Democrats controlled it.
A look back at some of the biggest stories of 2022.
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The Democratic outlook has previously looked bleak nationally, with President Joe Biden’s approval ratings worsening the economic situation.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn’t seem to be in danger of losing a second election, but the long standing status quo in Michigan’s Republican-led legislature seemed a given. .
But in early summer, the Michigan Republicans took a hit.
First, five out of 10 Republican gubernatorial candidates were dropped from the ballot after many of their ballot signatures were found to be invalid. Republicans ultimately chose Tudor Dixon as their gubernatorial nominee, though he was a little-known candidate at the time. was arrested by
Reproductive rights also go back 50 years, with a leaked U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the Roe v. Wade decision. Michigan Democrats such as Whitmer, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, and Rep. Dan Kildee included Michigan in their new constituencies and quickly put abortion at the center of their elections.
Democratic state senator candidate Kirsten McDonald Rivet, who ran in the new 35th District, which covers the Tri-Cities, also put out a number of offensive ads against then-Rep. Annette Glenn.
Dixon, Republican Attorney General nominee Matthew DePerno, and Republican secretary of state nominee Christina Caramo led polls between 10 and 16 percent in late August and early September.
With the election approaching in the fall, Republicans in Michigan and across the country have regained momentum, citing record gas prices and grocery store inflation under the Biden administration, constantly bashing Democrats about a sluggish economy. I started. Local Republican Midland candidates like Glenn and Rep. Bill G. Schütte delivered the message of fighting “Biden inflation.”
Many Michigan political analysts say the rivalry between Whitmer-Dioxon, Dana Nessel-Deperno and Jocelyn Benson-Caramo has soared that Republicans can no longer count on winning those seats. The rivalry between Rivet-Glenn, Kildee and Republican Paul Jange and Slotkin and Republican Tom Barrett was seen as particularly tough.
Democrats narrowly won the state and Senate seats. Whitmer won by 10 points.
Here in the Midlands, the victory of incumbents Kildee and Rivet would see the city represented by Democrats in the House and State Senate for at least the first time in decades.
But it wasn’t all bad news for the Midland Republicans. Bill G. Schütte easily defeated Democrat Matt Dawson. It was Mr. Schütte’s first elected office in Midland in more than 20 years, and his father, Bill, said Mr. He served as a state senator until 2003.