GOP, Democrats Each Win 1 In Michigan House Races
DETROIT (AP) - Voters in part of Genesee County picked another Republican to replace a recalled GOP lawmaker in the Michigan House on Tuesday, while a Democrat will take the place of a party colleague in a district representing part of Oakland County.
The split in the special elections will leave Republicans with a 63-47 advantage over Democrats in the House, the same margin with which the 2011-12 legislative session began.
Republican Joseph Graves defeated Democrat Steven Losey, 53 percent to 42 percent, in a special election for the 51st District covering part of Genesee County. Cary Neuville-Justice of the Green Party had 4 percent of the vote
Graves will serve the rest of the year in place of former Republican Rep. Paul Scott of Grand Blanc, who was recalled from office last year after he was targeted by the state's largest teachers union. The Michigan Education Association went after Scott because of his leadership on a new law weakening teacher tenure in the state, along with Republican-backed reductions in education spending and tax policy changes.
Republicans, angered that the MEA paid for the Scott recall, got a measure of revenge Tuesday.
"Today, the voters of the 51st District stood up and spoke out against special interests trying to subvert their will," Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger said in a statement.
It helped Graves that the special election was held on the same day as Michigan's Republican presidential primary. But that didn't matter in a heavily Democratic part of Oakland County, where Democrat Tim Greimel defeated Republican Bob Gray, 77 percent to 23 percent, in a special election to fill a vacancy in the 29th House District.
"We never took anything for granted, and we worked hard," Greimel said of working to counteract any effects the Republican presidential primary might have in his district.
Greimel, an Oakland County commissioner, will serve the rest of the year in place of former Democratic Rep. Tim Melton of Auburn Hills, who resigned to take a job with the national education group StudentsFirst.
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