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Michigan, State Representative, District 12

Michigan House of Representatives District 12
Current incumbentAlex Garza Democratic Party
Population73,576
Gender51.1% Male, 48.9% Female
Race44.4% White, 25.5% Other, 23.6% Black, 4.8% Two or More Races, 0.6% Asian, 1.1% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Ethnicity54.7% Hispanic, 45.3% Non-Hispanic

Michigan's twelfth state house district is held by Democratic Representative Alex Garza.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 73,576 civilians reside within Michigan's twelfth state house district. Michigan state representatives represent an average of 89,851 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 90,349 residents.

About the office

Members of the Michigan House of Representatives serve two-year terms with term limits. Michigan legislators assume office the at noon on first day of January.

Qualifications

Section 7 of Article 4 of the Michigan Constitution states, "Each senator and representative must be a citizen of the United States, at least 21 years of age, and an elector of the district he represents. The removal of his domicile from the district shall be deemed a vacation of the office. No person who has been convicted of subversion or who has within the preceding 20 years been convicted of a felony involving a breach of public trust shall be eligible for either house of the legislature."

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$71,685/year$10,800/year expense allowance for session and interim. Set by the compensation commission.

Term limits

The Michigan legislature is one of 15 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Michigan Term Limits Act in 1992. That initiative said that Michigan representatives are subject to term limits of no more than three two-year terms, or a total of six years.

The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2002.

Vacancies

Whenever a vacancy occurs in the house, it is up to the Governor to call for a special election. A special election must be held during the next scheduled general election. If the vacancy happened after the statewide primary, leaders of the respective party organizations within the Senate district can submit a list of nominees to be voted on by party leadership. A vote must be held no later than 21 days after the vacancy.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Michigan House of Representatives will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline is April 21, 2020.

2018

General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 12

Alex Garza (D) defeated Michelle Bailey (R) in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 12 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Alex Garza (D)
66.6
21,104

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Michelle Bailey (R)
33.4
10,567

Total votes: 31,671
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 12

Alex Garza defeated Alexandria Taylor, Tomeka Boles, and Lauretha Shelton in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 12 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Alex Garza (D)
46.6
4,311

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Alexandria Taylor (D)
36.3
3,358

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Tomeka Boles (D)
11.1
1,031

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Lauretha Shelton (D)
5.9
550

Total votes: 9,250
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 12

Michelle Bailey advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 12 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Michelle Bailey (R)
100
3,459

Total votes: 3,459

2016

Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 19, 2016.

Incumbent Erika Geiss defeated Erik Soderquist in the Michigan House of Representatives District 12 general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 12 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Erika Geiss Incumbent 67.11% 24,716
Republican Erik Soderquist 32.89% 12,112
Total Votes 36,828
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Incumbent Erika Geiss defeated Edward Martell in the Michigan House of Representatives District 12 Democratic primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 12 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Erika Geiss Incumbent 76.70% 3,976
Democratic Edward Martell 23.30% 1,208
Total Votes 5,184

Erik Soderquist ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 12 Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 12 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Erik Soderquist (unopposed)

2014

Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Erika Geiss was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Kelly Thompson was unopposed in the Republican primary. Geiss defeated Thompson in the general election. Alexis Brice Martell (D) withdrew before the primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 12 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngErika Geiss 69.6% 15,334
Republican Kelly Thompson 30.4% 6,696
Total Votes 22,030

2012

Elections for the office of Michigan House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 7, 2012 and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature-filing deadline for major party candidates wishing to run in this election was May 15, 2012. The deadline for independent candidates was July 19, 2012. The deadline for write-in candidates was July 27, 2012. Incumbent Douglas Geiss (D) defeated Joanne Michalik (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the August 5 primary elections.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 13, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDouglas Geiss Incumbent 64.6% 25,496
Republican Joanne Michalik 35.4% 13,996
Total Votes 39,492

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Michigan House of Representatives District 12 raised a total of $796,407. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $23,424 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Michigan House of Representatives District 12

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $48,211 3 $16,070
2014 $34,040 2 $17,020
2012 $29,285 2 $14,643
2010 $180,959 3 $60,320
2008 $127,716 9 $14,191
2006 $75,279 3 $25,093
2004 $158,089 5 $31,618
2002 $121,887 5 $24,377
2000 $20,941 2 $10,471
Total $796,407 34 $23,424