Topline Takeaways

• Michigan lost one House seat in reapportionment, following the 2020 census.

• The state’s new districts were drawn and approved by an independent, non-politician redistricting commission.

• The resulting congressional districts are much more compact than previous districts and slightly improve the competitiveness of Michigan’s US House races.

Who’s In Control

Michigan’s new congressional districts were drawn and approved by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. This commission is a 13-member body consisting of four Democrats, four Republicans and five citizens who are unaffiliated with either major party. In order to validate new districts, a plan must receive two votes from at least two commissioners who affiliate with each major party, and at least two commissioners who do not affiliate with either major party.

New District Breakdown

Michigan’s new congressional districts are significantly more compact than their previous iterations. Previously, Flint, Michigan was grouped into a long congressional district that stretched nearly 100 miles to the north along the Saginaw Bay. Now that district only holds Flint, Bay City and their surrounding areas, surrendering much of the rural northern areas to MI-1. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area was previously split across two congressional districts, now it’s wholly represented by the new MI-3. Detroit’s districts are now much more legible for average voters as districts no longer snake in and around the city. The new districts align much more closely with county boundaries, with Oakland county being almost entirely represented in MI-11 and much of Macomb county now sitting in MI-10.

These simpler boundaries also helped improve competitiveness. While the state lost a congressional seat in reapportionment, close to half of its new districts remain competitive. Three districts sit incredibly close to the center when looking at their 2020 presidential vote, with margins of less than 3 points in either direction. The new map also potentially creates a rare split-ticket district: Republican Rep. Peter Meijer will be running for re-election in a district that narrowly broke for Biden in 2020, MI-3. (The old MI-3 favored Trump by a small 3-point margin.) While this competitiveness is great for democracy, it’s provided a bit of heartburn for both parties in the short-term.

The new map created two different incumbent v. incumbent dilemmas, one for each party. The new MI-11 pits Rep. Andy Levin against Rep. Haley Stevens. Since neither Democrat has handed in their resignation, they’ll be facing off in the upcoming August primary. Meanwhile on the Republican side, Reps. Bill Huizenga and Fred Upton were also looped into the same district. Fred Upton has been one of the infamous Republican defectors: voting in support of Trump’s (second) impeachment and Biden’s infrastructure bill. Like the other defectors, Upton announced his retirement, clearing the primary field for his more Trumpy challenger.

Leftover Links

• Several of Michigan’s Republican candidates for governor have been making headlines for their calls to ban gay marriage.

• The incumbent v. incumbent battle in the new MI-11 will be another test for the progressive wing of the Democratic party.