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Michigan, State Representative, District 71

Michigan House of Representatives District 71
Current incumbentAngela Witwer Democratic Party
Population97,665
Gender51.2% Female, 48.8% Male
Race87.0% White, 6.9% Black, 2.6% Two or More Races, 1.8% Asian, 1.3% Other, 0.4% Native American
Ethnicity95.1% Non-Hispanic, 4.9% Hispanic

Michigan's seventy-first state house district is held by Democratic Representative Angela Witwer.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 97,665 civilians reside within Michigan's seventy-first 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.

2016 pivot county

206 Pivot Counties Logo.png

This district is one of 710 state legislative districts that intersects with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.

The 206 Pivot Counties are located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. The partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties is slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.

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 71

Angela Witwer (D) defeated Christine Barnes (R) in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 71 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Angela Witwer (D)
50.8
21,990

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Christine Barnes (R)
49.2
21,299

Total votes: 43,289
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 71

Angela Witwer defeated Beth Bowen and Dominic Natoli in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 71 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Angela Witwer (D)
60.1
6,364

Beth Bowen (D)
32.7
3,463

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Dominic Natoli (D)
7.2
764

Total votes: 10,591
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 71

Christine Barnes defeated Chuck Cascarilla, Chris Stewart, and Clarisa Trevino in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 71 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Christine Barnes (R)
42.1
4,247

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Chuck Cascarilla (R)
31.2
3,154

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Chris Stewart (R)
21.9
2,215

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Clarisa Trevino (R)
4.8
481

Total votes: 10,097

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 Tom Barrett defeated Theresa Abed and Marc Lord in the Michigan House of Representatives District 71 general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Tom Barrett Incumbent 54.04% 26,315
Democratic Theresa Abed 42.98% 20,926
Libertarian Marc Lord 2.98% 1,450
Total Votes 48,691
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Theresa Abed ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 71 Democratic primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Theresa Abed (unopposed)

Incumbent Tom Barrett ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 71 Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Tom Barrett Incumbent (unopposed)

This district was included in the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee's list of "2016 Essential Races." Read more »

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. Incumbent Theresa Abed was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Tom Barrett was unopposed in the Republican primary. Abed was defeated by Barrett in the general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTom Barrett 50.2% 17,760
Democratic Theresa Abed Incumbent 49.8% 17,612
Total Votes 35,372

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. Theresa Abed (D) defeated incumbent Deb Shaughnessy (R) in the general election. Abed defeated Andrea Cascarilla and Douglas C. Drake in the Democratic primary. Shaughnessy was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngTheresa Abed 53.4% 24,822
Republican Deb Shaughnessy Incumbent 46.6% 21,637
Total Votes 46,459

Michigan House of Representatives, District 71 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTheresa Abed 42.4% 1,974
Andrea Cascarilla 41.9% 1,951
Douglas Drake 15.6% 727
Total Votes 4,652

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Michigan House of Representatives District 71 raised a total of $3,068,565. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $105,813 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Michigan House of Representatives District 71

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $825,868 3 $275,289
2014 $966,430 2 $483,215
2012 $635,076 4 $158,769
2010 $301,421 9 $33,491
2008 $64,375 2 $32,188
2006 $47,308 2 $23,654
2004 $74,363 3 $24,788
2002 $95,273 2 $47,637
2000 $58,451 2 $29,226
Total $3,068,565 29 $105,813