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Michigan, State Representative, District 27

Michigan House of Representatives District 27
Current incumbentRobert Wittenberg Democratic Party
Population83,872
Gender51.8% Male, 48.2% Female
Race74.9% White, 19.7% Black, 3.1% Two or More Races, 1.4% Asian, 0.5% Other, 0.4% Native American
Ethnicity97.9% Non-Hispanic, 2.1% Hispanic

Michigan's twenty-seventh state house district is held by Democratic Representative Robert Wittenberg.

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 27

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg (D) defeated Janet Flessland (R) and Benjamin Carr (L) in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Robert Wittenberg (D)
78.5
35,054

Janet Flessland (R)
18.5
8,270

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Benjamin Carr (L)
3.0
1,328

Total votes: 44,652
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg defeated Michelangelo Fortuna III in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Robert Wittenberg (D)
83.6
15,379

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Michelangelo Fortuna III (D)
16.4
3,024

Total votes: 18,403
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Janet Flessland advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Janet Flessland (R)
100
3,283

Total votes: 3,283
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Benjamin Carr advanced from the Libertarian primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Benjamin Carr (L)
100
83

Total votes: 83

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 Robert Wittenberg defeated Kyle Forrest in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Wittenberg Incumbent 76.78% 36,392
Republican Kyle Forrest 23.22% 11,007
Total Votes 47,399
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Incumbent Robert Wittenberg ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 Democratic primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Wittenberg Incumbent (unopposed)

Kyle Forrest defeated Stefan Graziano in the Michigan House of Representatives District 27 Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Kyle Forrest 58.03% 1,275
Republican Stefan Graziano 41.97% 922
Total Votes 2,197

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. Robert Wittenberg defeated Andrew Cissell, Joe McHugh, Rudy Serra and Kelli Williams in the Democratic primary. Michael Ryan defeated Mark Manier in the Republican primary. Wittenberg defeated Ryan in the general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Wittenberg 75.6% 23,756
Republican Michael Ryan 24.4% 7,671
Total Votes 31,427

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Wittenberg 44% 4,165
Rudy Serra 19.5% 1,845
Kelli Williams 15% 1,423
Joe McHugh 11.6% 1,094
Andrew Cissell 9.9% 940
Total Votes 9,467

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMichael Ryan 67.1% 1,382
Mark Manier 32.9% 678
Total Votes 2,060

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 Ellen Lipton (D) defeated Ezra Drissman (R) and John Wierzbicki (L) in the general election. Lipton defeated Andrew Robert Cissell in the Democratic primary. Drissman was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngEllen Lipton Incumbent 75.6% 34,389
Republican Ezra Drissman 20.3% 9,253
Libertarian John Wierzbicki 4% 1,841
Total Votes 45,483

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngEllen Lipton Incumbent 83.7% 9,465
Andrew Cissell 16.3% 1,848
Total Votes 11,313

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Michigan House of Representatives District 27 raised a total of $640,057. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $22,859 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $65,549 3 $21,850
2014 $115,339 7 $16,477
2012 $18,595 1 $18,595
2010 $35,375 1 $35,375
2008 $137,302 6 $22,884
2006 $51,139 1 $51,139
2004 $42,207 2 $21,104
2002 $144,732 5 $28,946
2000 $29,819 2 $14,910
Total $640,057 28 $22,859