Michigan

Map of Presidential Results
Map of Senate Results
Map of House Results
Results
Size of Lead
Change from ‘08
State Highlights
By Steven Greenhouse

Debbie Stabenow, the state’s two-term Democratic senator, easily won re-election, defeating Pete Hoekstra, a Republican House member from 1993 through 2011.

President Obama also won Michigan, a Democratic-leaning state that Republicans had hoped to be able to contest because Mitt Romney was born there and because Mr. Romney’s father had served as the state’s governor.

Mr. Romney spent plenty of time in Michigan early in the campaign, but Mr. Obama steadily forged ahead, helped by his multibillion-dollar plan to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. Michigan has 16 electoral votes, and it was a state where Romney campaign officials had insisted he had a chance of winning.

Kerry Bentivolio, the Republican candidate and a reindeer farmer, won the House seat vacated by Thaddeus McCotter, a five-term Republican from the Detroit suburbs who resigned after most of the signatures he submitted to get on the primary ballot were found to be fraudulent.

In the First District, Representative Dan Benishek, the Republican incumbent, held a lead of 2,297 votes over Gary McDowell, a Democrat and former state representative.

Voters rejected by a large margin a ballot initiative to enshrine the right to bargain collectively in the State Constitution. Union leaders pushed the measure, which lost 58 percent to 42 percent, with the aim of preventing Michigan’s Legislature from curbing government employees’ bargaining rights. Voters narrowly approved a union-backed initiative that overturned a law that had allowed the governor to appoint emergency managers for financially distressed communities and school districts. The law gave emergency managers the power to cancel union contracts.

Voters rejected a proposal to require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the Legislature or a statewide vote to increase taxes.

Voters also defeated an initiative on the ballot that emerged from a specific concern: Detroit is connected to Canada by only one tunnel and one bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, which is owned by a private company, the Detroit International Bridge Company. As American and Canadian officials readied plans for a second bridge, Detroit International responded with a petition to require a public vote on all new international bridges and tunnels built for cars.

President 100% reporting
Candidate Party Votes Pct. Change from ‘08 Electoral Votes
P-barack-obama
Hp-checkmark@2xBarack Obama
Dem. 2,561,911 54.3% -3.0% 16
Mitt Romney
Rep. 2,112,673 44.8% +3.9% 0
Jill Stein
Green 21,204 0.4% 0
Virgil Goode
Other 16,792 0.4% 0
Rocky Anderson
N.L. 5,148 0.1% 0
Senate 100% reporting
Candidate Party Votes Pct.
Mi-s-debbie-stabenow
Hp-checkmark@2xDebbie Stabenow
Dem. 2,732,886 58.8% Incumbent
Pete Hoekstra
Rep. 1,765,548 38.0%
Scott A. Boman
Lib. 84,463 1.8%
Harley G. Mikkelson
Green 27,896 0.6%
Richard Matkin
Other 26,022 0.6%
John Litle
N.L. 11,234 0.2%
House of Representatives
District Democrat Republican Other Reporting
1
47.5%McDowell
Hp-checkmark@2x48.2%Benishek*
4.4%  Other 100%
2
34.3%German
Hp-checkmark@2x61.1%Huizenga*
4.6%  Other 100%
3
44.1%Pestka
Hp-checkmark@2x52.7%Amash*
3.2%  Other 99%
4
33.5%Freidell Wirth
Hp-checkmark@2x63.1%Camp*
3.4%  Other 100%
5
Hp-checkmark@2x65.0%Kildee
31.4%Slezak
3.5%  Other 100%
6
42.7%O'Brien
Hp-checkmark@2x54.5%Upton*
2.8%  Other 100%
7
43.0%Haskell
Hp-checkmark@2x53.3%Walberg*
3.6%  Other 100%
8
37.3%Enderle
Hp-checkmark@2x58.6%Rogers*
4.1%  Other 100%
9
Hp-checkmark@2x61.9%Levin*
34.0%Volaric
4.1%  Other 100%
10
29.8%Stadler
Hp-checkmark@2x68.7%Miller*
1.5%  Other 100%
11
44.4%Taj
Hp-checkmark@2x50.8%Bentivolio
4.9%  Other 100%
12
Hp-checkmark@2x67.9%Dingell*
29.0%Kallgren
3.1%  Other 100%
13
Hp-checkmark@2x82.8%Conyers*
13.6%Sawicki
3.6%  Other 100%
14
Hp-checkmark@2x82.2%Peters*
15.6%Hauler
2.1%  Other 100%
Major Ballot Initiatives
Measure Yes No Reporting
12-1
Approve law authorizing governor to appoint emergency managers for government units in financial emergency?
47.4%
Hp-checkmark@2x52.6%
100%
12-2
Amend Constitution to establish right to collective bargaining for public and private workers?
42.6%
Hp-checkmark@2x57.4%
100%
12-3
Amend Constitution to require that 25 percent of state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2025?
37.5%
Hp-checkmark@2x62.5%
100%
12-4
Amend Constitution to provide collective bargaining for home health care workers?
43.8%
Hp-checkmark@2x56.2%
100%
12-5
Amend Constitution to require two-thirds legislative vote or referendum to increase state taxes?
31.2%
Hp-checkmark@2x68.8%
100%
12-6
Amend Constitution to require statewide and local vote to approve any international bridge or tunnel?
40.8%
Hp-checkmark@2x59.2%
100%