Michigan State Representative Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, speaks out to sponsor bills legalizing marriage equality in Michigan on June 24, 2013, in front of the state Capitol building in Lansing. The legislation package would allow marriage equality, recognize marriages from other states, amend marriage laws, and repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act. Danyelle Morrow/The State News
Incumbent state Rep. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, an MSU alumnus, was re-elected into his seat on Michigan’s 69th House District.
Curtis Hertel Jr. was elected to the state Senate to represent East Lansing, replacing fellow Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, who was term limited.
As of 11:12 p.m., Hertel had 66 percent of the vote with 78 percent of precincts reporting. Singh had a similarly commanding lead with over 70 percent of the vote from almost three quarters precincts.
“We are very excited to see that Gary Peters has won and look forward to working with him as we move forward,” Singh said following the fellow democrat’s election to the U.S. Senate.
Hertel’s win comes after a primary victory and early lead with his campaign gaining several endorsements over the months leading to the election.
Hertel Jr. graduated from MSU’s James Madison college and has served as Ingham County Register of Deeds since 2009. He said education and equality are some of his primary concerns, including universal preschool and better quality public and higher education.
“An immediate goal is making college education more affordable,” Hertel said. “A lot of mistakes have been made in funding our schools, and we can’t have kids graduating with insurmountable debt.”
Hertel has also set fixing the roads in Michigan as one of his first priorities.
“Anyone who has driven on our roads knows how horrible they are,” he said.
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