Michigan House Democrats expanded their presence in Lansing to a 67-43 majority — the largest in 30 years — but there is disagreement on whether the political battlefield will be different.
States across the nation witnessed a Democratic Party surge, which many said was the product of unpopular Bush administration policies and excitement created by President-elect Obama’s campaign. Still, the gains made in Lansing fall short of attaining a two-thirds majority in the state House.
Even if the Democratic Party had a larger majority, not much would change in Lansing because Republicans control the state Senate until at least 2010, said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics.
State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, said although the Republican Party controls the state Senate, the Democratic majority in the House will pressure the Senate Republicans into approving more legislation.
The Democratic majority also will impact House Republicans, Meadows said.
“Certainly, it gets us a lot closer and encourages bipartisanship because we have such strong majority that Republicans on the other side of the aisle will see the benefits in working with us rather than against us,” he said. “It’s a very significant thing.”
State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, served as the House Republican Caucus campaign chairman and said the Democrats were ushered into the state House by Obama’s “very long coattails.” He said the Democratic majority could make it more difficult for his party to push its objectives, but he added that legislators need to look past parties.
“I don’t care about partisanship,” Calley said. “Most of these issues are nonpartisan. If we’re talking about jobs, we have solutions to push forward and I don’t care whose idea it was.”
But if positive policies take form throughout the next two years, parties likely will attempt to claim such policies as their own, Ballenger said. He added that the 2010 election will be important because the new governor, House and Senate will redraw district maps that would give the party in power a better chance at winning elections.
In 2010, eight of the 38 state senators will be eligible for re-election. The rest are term limited, which could cause a dramatic shift in state politics, Ballenger said.
“I know that everyone was excited about this year,” he said. “But this year is peanuts compared to 2010.”
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