- During election week, two Democratic Representatives left their house seats after being elected as mayors in their cities
- The House became deadlocked, with an equal 54 Democrats and 54 Republicans occupying House seats
- Democrats pushed for legislation to adjourn early this year, leading to some Republican pushback
Transcript from broadcast segment:
For the first time in a long time here at the state Capitol, there's an evenly split House of Representatives; 54 Democrats - and 54 Republicans.
I talked to an expert about what that will mean here and across our neighborhoods.
First, some background on how we got here. During Election Week, two Democrat Representatives ran for mayor in their cities and won, taking them away from their House seats, and causing the 54-54 split. Democrats then pushed to adjourn session early in November, a move that raised concerns for some Republicans in the House.
Which brings us back to today. I spoke with Matt Grossmann, a political scientist at Michigan State University, who said that when the House experienced an even split in the 90’s, there was a strong desire from both sides to work together to pass bipartisan legislation and split power between the two parties. Today, it’s different.
"Normally you would see more bipartisan legislation than you see now. Obviously it takes two to tango, so it's both the Democratic leadership and the Republican minority's unwillingness to work together," Grossmann explained. "It is possible to share power, but it isn't probable in our era when the two major parties are so far apart and not motivated to work with one another."
I asked him what effects ending legislation early would have on our neighborhoods. He said Downtown Lansing could see a visible change.
"The people who are down there regularly often are either the legislatures or people trying to influence the legislature or report on the legislature," Grossmann told me. "That means that if that isn't happening, it's less activity downtown in an era when we are already at a lower level of downtown activity."
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to call for special elections to fill the vacant seats in the house when legislative sessions return next year.
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