Michigan’s new state legislative session begins this week with the Democratic party at the helm.
This is the first time in nearly four decades that Democrats have control of the governor’s office, state House, and Senate.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Lauren Gibbons, a reporter with Bridge Michigan who interviewed many of the state’s freshman legislators.
Interview Highlights
On how lawmakers are trending younger
In the Michigan House, especially, we are seeing a lot more Gen X and Millennial representation. So, people who are Gen X goes into your 50s a little bit. So, people who are 50s and younger in the legislature make up the majority of the Michigan House. Now the Senate trends a little bit older than that, and that kind of makes sense, because in recent sessions, the House has kind of been a Senate pipeline.
On changes in diversity in the demographics of the legislature
There are slightly fewer Black lawmakers serving this session than there were in the past. And that was an issue that came up quite a bit during the redistricting process. A lot of people were concerned that was how it would play out. I believe it's down to 17 Black lawmakers in the House and Senate from 20 last session. So, not a huge difference, but is something that could pose some concern for observers at the legislature.
On the career backgrounds of some of the freshman legislators
I think the interesting thing here is that while there is a substantial presence of people who came up through local government experience coming into the state legislature, there is also a lot of people coming in with different experience of bringing in their previous career backgrounds. We've got educators. We've got nurses. We've got at least one lawmaker coming in with a public health background. Law enforcement, business owners.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Michigan’s new state legislative session begins this week with the Democratic party at the helm.
This is the first time in nearly four decades that Democrats have control of the governor’s office, state House, and Senate.
Lauren Gibbons is a reporter with Bridge Michigan who spoke to many of the state’s freshman legislators. She joins me now. Thanks for being here.
Lauren Gibbons: Thanks so much for having me.
Saliby: What is the energy going into the session from both Democrats and Republicans?
Gibbons: I think the really interesting thing about this session and what I've been hearing a lot from the incoming lawmakers is just the, a lot of unknowns, a lot of excitement.
But I really do think because there are so many new people coming in, coming off these new political districts, some of which are a lot more competitive.
And, of course, the fact that it's a Democratic trifecta, the House, the Senate and the governor's office are all held by Democrats for the first time in decades, so I think there's just a lot of newness.
And a lot of people who are really interested in seeing what Democratic leadership has to say, and also what these new lawmakers will do.
Saliby: You looked into the demographics of this group of lawmakers compared to previous sessions. What did you find?
Gibbons: I think the most interesting thing for me when I started exploring by the numbers of the legislature is just the trend overall of the legislature getting younger.
People who are 50s and younger in the legislature make up the majority of the Michigan House.
In the Michigan House, especially, we are seeing a lot more Gen X and Millennial representation. So, people who are Gen X goes into your 50s a little bit. So, people who are 50s and younger in the legislature make up the majority of the Michigan House.
Now the Senate trends a little bit older than that, and that kind of makes sense, because in recent sessions, the House has kind of been a Senate pipeline. That could change with the new term limit rules. So overall, we're seeing the Michigan House trending younger, especially.
And then some other interesting things, very well-educated class of lawmakers. I think it was about a third of them who have master's or legal degrees. And then you know, most all of them have bachelor's or community college experience, so that was interesting. And just kind of a wide range of experience, some of them are coming from a lot of different career paths.
And then, the other important thing to note is the demographics of diversity. There are slightly fewer Black lawmakers serving this session than there were in the past. And that was an issue that came up quite a bit during the redistricting process. A lot of people were concerned that was how it would play out.
I believe it's down to 17 Black lawmakers in the House and Senate from 20 last session. So, not a huge difference, but is something that could pose some concern for observers at the legislature.
Saliby: To follow up on that, this is the first time these new district lines that were drawn by the state's redistricting commission in 2021 were used widely in statewide elections.
Beyond what you just mentioned, what impact did they have that we can kind of tell?
If they're controversial or if they're very important to members of their community, I think you might be seeing people who are faced with tough choices when looking at caucus pressures versus what their district is hoping for.
Gibbons: It kind of remains to be seen the full impact, like I said, from the outset, the fact that a lot more of these lawmakers were elected in very competitive districts where, realistically, both a Republican or a Democratic candidate could have a good shot at winning the seat, that could change how some of these lawmakers vote on certain issues.
If they're controversial or if they're very important to members of their community, I think you might be seeing people who are faced with tough choices when looking at caucus pressures versus what their district is hoping for. So, that's one major impact of redistricting.
I also think, you know, overall, we are seeing a lot more competitive districts and just more people. This is partly due to term limits as well, more new people. And I think that goes back to more young people being interested in this process and having, what they feel opportunities to run in the districts that they live in.
Saliby: What perspectives are freshman lawmakers bringing into the capitol that might not have been present before?
A lot of people are coming in with, you know, different perspectives that will absolutely inform how they perceive certain policy issues that come up.
Gibbons: Yeah so, I think the interesting thing here is that while there is a substantial presence of people who came up through local government experience coming into the state legislature, there is also a lot of people coming in with different experience of bringing in their previous career backgrounds.
We've got educators. We've got nurses. We've got at least one lawmaker coming in with a public health background. Law enforcement, business owners.
You know, a lot of people are coming in with, you know, different perspectives that will absolutely inform how they perceive certain policy issues that come up.
Saliby: Lauren Gibbons reports for Bridge Michigan. Thank you for joining me.
Gibbons: Thanks so much for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
