A Democratic swing in the Michigan Legislature highlights the role that redistricting can play in the outcome of elections.
Although Hornberger's roughly 300-vote loss in a state Senate race was the closest statewide, she considers the maps drawn by the citizens commission to be fair.
“Michigan went from some of the most extremely gerrymandered maps to some of the country’s fairest maps, and now we have a perfect alignment between the votes that voters cast and the officials that were elected into office," said Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians.
The legislative flip in Michigan was part of a strong showing for Democrats at the state level in this year's midterm elections. Wins in legislative or governor's races also gave themMichigan is not the only state with a history of partisan gerrymandering, in which the party in charge draws districts to its advantage — packing voters of the other party into select districts and spreading others among multiple districts to diminish their clout.
In 2018 and 2020, Democratic candidates received a slight majority of the total state House votes, yet Republicans won a 58-52 House majority each year. Democrats also received more votes for the Michigan Senate in the last election in 2018, yet Republicans won a 22-16 majority under the maps they had drawn.
“The opportunity to flip the Senate for the first time in 38 years was something that I couldn’t just walk away from,” Klinefelt said.
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