The blue wave of the 2026 election is reshaping the power balance in Michigan state politics for 2027 and beyond.
Democrats will retain control of the governor's office, have won a larger majority in the state Senate, and are set to regain control of the state House.
For more on the election and its implications at the state Capitol, Michigan Public Morning Edition host Doug Tribou spoke with Gongwer News Service President Zach Gorchow.
Doug Tribou: All 110 state House seats were on the ballot this election, and Democrats were able to regain the majority they lost two years ago. They also not only retained their majority in the state Senate, but expanded it. What were some of the key races that stood out to you in this cycle?
Zach Gorchow: I think what stands out is that the Democrats essentially won every single contested race and then a couple that weren't even really seriously contested. I mean, this was a complete sweep. You know, we don't have these happen that often. But we certainly had it happen on Tuesday.
You could look at the traditionally competitive districts, places like Battle Creek's district. That is sort of your prototypical swing district. It flips back and forth often, and it went to the Democrats this time. No surprise.
Areas that are emerging Democratic territory, that have been trending Democratic, like Rochester and Rochester Hills, Holland, those went Democratic.
Areas that had been trending Republican in the Trump era, seats that Republicans had flipped away from Democrats Downriver, places like suburban Genesee County, those flipped back to the Democrats. So there's really not one simple way to look at this. This was sort of an all-of-the-above situation.
DT: What are some of the policy agendas that you think Democrats are likely to focus on as they consolidate power in Lansing?
ZG: One, we know that Governor-elect Benson has said the first legislation she would like to sign would be a state Voting Rights Act. I would expect that the incoming Democratic Legislature will be very amenable to that.
Benson has also talked about dealing with costs and affordability. She talked about some targeted tax breaks like a caregiver tax credit. So I would certainly expect we're going to see something along those lines, too.
But I think the other place to really look is to the last time Democrats had complete control in the 2023-2024 term and the items that a lot of Democrats wished they had gotten done that term that I think are going to get dusted off.
DT: Well, as you mentioned, many Democratic supporters viewed that period, that 2023-2024 session, as a squandered opportunity in terms of the amount of significant legislation that wound up being passed. So it sounds like you think Democrats will have more ability to get more done this time around?
ZG: Oh, for sure. I mean, that last term in '23, '24, they had bare minimum majorities: 56-54 in the House and 20-18 in the Senate. That meant in the House, they needed every Democrat to vote for something in order to pass it, because in most cases, the Republicans weren't coming on board. And for all intents and purposes, it was the same situation in the Senate, too. That's really difficult.
Now, the Democrats don't need every single member to pass something. You know, there was a joke in the last term in the House. You had effectively 56 Speakers of the House because you couldn't lose a single vote. So they could exert an incredible amount of leverage to get their vote on any one bill.
DT: Now that the election is behind us, mostly, and Democrats are set to have full control again in Lansing, we've entered the lame-duck period between now and January. And we still have a divided government with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican majority in the House. Do you expect them to pass much legislation before the session ends?
ZG: I don't. The Democrats really have no incentive to work with the Republicans in the House on anything really significant, because why would you compromise with the House Republicans when you're going to have full control in a couple of months? And if you're the House Republicans, you know, what incentive do you really have to try to move much knowing that the Democrats are likely to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Now, that being said, I would expect some bills to get to the governor's desk. But these are going to be kind of what we call cat-and-dogs kinds of bills around Lansing. Smaller potatoes, non-controversial, probably some things that legislators who are not returning next session would like to get done before their careers end.
There's no indication that outgoing Governor (Gretchen) Whitmer has any big asks or anything big she wants to get done before she leaves. So there just doesn't seem to be a lot of impetus for anything significant.
DT: One of the things that fascinates me about politics is that on the national and the state level, regardless of party or political persuasion, when one party wins decisively in the legislative branch or in an executive office like the president or the governor, it's often not long before the newly elected officials sort of buy into the idea that the entire voting populace has given them a mandate.
And then it's not long before they step beyond what people are expecting or step outside of some of the core issues that fueled their success, which in turns sets them up for sometimes failure or diminished returns in the next election cycle.
And at the federal level this time around, it's easy to see how there might be a congressional mandate here for the newly elected members of the House and Senate. But here in Michigan, Democrats already had a lot of power. They had the governor's office, they had the attorney general, the secretary of state. They had a majority in the Senate. Is it trickier for them to figure out the priorities, even though they just had decisive victories here in Michigan?
ZG: This is sort of a tale as old as time, you know. When you win elections, the state level and a sweep like this, and this has been true of Democrats and Republicans. Some would say sometimes that these trifecta governments maybe go too far or exceed what voters were expecting.
But Governor (John) Engler once said something like, "change is the mandate." And I think one could say that in 2024, the Republicans won everything nationally and in Michigan, almost everything in Michigan, largely because voters were so angry about inflation and how expensive things were. President (Joe) Biden and Democrats paid a steep price in 2024 for not addressing those issues. And President (Donald) Trump and the Republicans paid a steep price in 2026 for not addressing those issues.
If the Democrats in Michigan end up focusing more on core Democratic priorities and don't try to do some things to provide some relief to people, whatever form that looks like, I think they'll pay a price. And, you know, that could be true at the federal level, too.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of the interview near the top of this page.
