Michigan Democrats lose state government trifecta as Republicans win House

The Michigan Republican Party is projected to win control of the state House, local projections showed Wednesday. This eliminates the trifecta that Democrats had in the state with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) since last year.

Republicans won at least 56 seats of the 110-seat House as of Wednesday afternoon. No state Senate seats were up for election on Tuesday.

Under the trifecta, the legislature passed numerous progressive laws on reproductive rights, gun safety, LGBTQ+ rights and the minimum wage. The legislature also repealed a right-to-work law passed in 2012, and it repealed the state’s 92-year-old abortion ban in April 2023.

Meanwhile, the GOP’s electoral slate included numerous anti-abortion candidates and some election deniers, including Reps. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) and Matt Maddock (R-Milford). As of 5:00 p.m. EST, only 25th District Republican Josh Powell had lost his seat out of the Republicans Heartland Signal previously highlighted.

Matt Hall — who sent death threats to a college student in Maryland in 2001, according to 2023 reporting from the American Independent Foundation — will likely become House speaker.