LANSING – President Barack Obama delivered a staggering disappointment to Republicans in putting Michigan in the Democratic column for a sixth consecutive election as he rolled to a second term, but beneath Democratic wins at the top of the ticket, Michigan Republicans scored key triumphs elsewhere.
Besides Michigan’s 16 electoral votes, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) also stomped Peter Hoekstra on her way to re-election, giving Democrats the top two prizes.
“President Obama has been a tireless advocate for the people of Michigan so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Michigan stood with him today,” Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer of East Lansing, the lead voice of the Democrats in the Capitol, said in a statement. “Republicans threw every dishonest and juvenile attack at him that they could, but when voters looked at the facts, they saw a president who fought for our workers, saved our auto industry and is getting our nation’s economy back on track. It’s exciting to see President Obama re-elected so that he can continue to be the ally Michigan needs in the White House for the next four years.”
But Republicans scored the major wins when it comes to state government. They retained – narrowly – control of the House, 59-51. They also retained a majority on the Supreme Court. And Republicans and their business allies utterly thumped Democrats and their union and environmentalist allies on the showcase ballot proposals on collective bargaining, renewable energy and the state’s home help care workers.
There was also a big sigh of relief among Republicans that House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) survived a major re-election scare.
Given how close Democrats came to winning control of the House, there will surely be some serious soul-searching on the Democratic side as to whether the more than $20 million unions poured into the collective bargaining proposal could have instead been used to win the House.
In the showcase congressional race, U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek (R-Crystal Falls) narrowly won re-election.
Locally, Democrats notched some key wins. Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield), who got national attention after House Republicans muzzled her following her use of the word “vagina” in a floor speech protesting an anti-abortion bill, scored some major revenge by toppling Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard, a longtime former legislator.
And while Democrats failed to take control of the House, they torpedoed five Republican incumbents. Still, Republicans will maintain total control of state government when the 97th Legislature opens in January.
Republican Party spokesperson Matt Frendewey said Republicans could take pride in what they achieved.
“Republicans fought extremely hard tonight,” he said. “Nationally, there’s a lot of disappointment with the outcome of the presidential race, but within Michigan, Republicans defended the House with a strong majority, defended the court, defended our congressionals and defended the Constitution and that’s because we built a firewall to protect against a Democratic sweep that we had seen in previous presidential elections.”
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