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Tate drops out of party leadership race as House of Representatives enters minority

Harry November 7, 2024

Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate will not seek to remain the Democratic leader as his caucus enters 2025 as the minority party following Tuesday’s elections in which Republicans flipped four seats to retake the majority.

Democratic House Speaker Pro-Tem Laurie Pohutsky of Livonia said Wednesday she will run for House Minority Leader.

Republican House Minority Leader Matt Hall, who led his caucus back to the majority, told The Detroit News on Wednesday morning that he is confident he will be the next Speaker of the House. He faces a challenge from GOP state Rep. Tom Kunse of Clare, who confirmed Wednesday that he will seek the leadership role.

Tuesday’s victory for House Republicans erases the 56-54 majority Democrats had in 2022, when Democrats swept the Michigan House and Senate and the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

The 110-member lower house will likely enter 2025 with a 58-52 Republican majority, marking the beginning of two years of divided government in Michigan.

The GOP State House victory, carried in part by President Donald Trump’s victory at the top, is expected to lead to leadership races on Thursday and trigger an active lame-duck session before House Democrats relinquish control.

To win the majority, Republicans managed to preserve some sensitive House seats in Oakland County, including seats held by incumbent state Reps. Donni Steele and Mark Tisdel, and increase Democratic seats to four.

Democratic seats that appear to be flipped include incumbent state Reps. Jim Haadsma of Battle Creek, Jenn Hill of Marquette, Nate Shannon of Sterling Heights and Jaime Churches of Wyandotte.

With the victory, the Upper Peninsula lost its last Democratic lawmaker, President Donald Trump once again proved his prowess in Macomb County, and Calhoun County continued its reorientation to the right.

On the broader policy side, House Republicans are expected to pose obstacles to various Democratic policy priorities in 2025 and 2026, but Hall argued Wednesday that there are policies for which bipartisan compromise is possible.

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