Republicans gained ground in the U.S. House and Senate on Election Day while the opposite was true for their brethren in many state chambers, including Michigan's House.
All of the Michigan House's 110 spots were open this year, and incumbents in 37 districts lost their seats because of term limits - 24 of them Republican, 13 Democratic.
Democrats capitalized on these openings, nabbing five previously Republican seats in the Legislature, their largest gain since 1986. It also marked the first time since 1996 Democrats gained any seats.
Republicans controlled the House with a 63-47 advantage, but Democrats shifted that power balance more toward their favor, 58-52.
The makeup will reflect that of the House just before the 2002 election.
The results are good because they require the chamber to work in a more bipartisan manner, said State Rep. Chris Kolb, D-Ann Arbor.
"The majority party only has a few votes to lose before they can't pass a bill," Kolb said. "They're not going to be able to just ram things through the House.
"That's good for the process."
A special election held last week filled the one vacant House seat in the 17th district. Democrat Andy Dillon of Redford Township defeated Republican Darryl Husk of Redford to fill Daniel Paletko's empty seat. Paletko, D-Dearborn Heights, resigned in January to become mayor of Dearborn Heights.
But it wasn't just Michigan Democrats who gained ground. Democrats across the nation picked up seats, and even tied or took over control of some House and Senate chambers.
Based on unofficial results, Democrats won the Colorado Senate and House, North Carolina House, Oregon Senate, Vermont House, Washington Senate and Montana Senate. Democrats pulled even with Republicans in the Iowa Senate and might have a tied chamber in the Montana House.
But some state Republicans say the progress made by Michigan Democrats won't have much of an impact because they're still the minority party.
Republicans will set the chamber's agenda and determine who heads the committees, and will control the House for the fourth-consecutive term.
"Majority is majority," said State Rep. Scott Shackleton, R-Sault Ste. Marie. Term-limited Shackleton lost his seat to a Democrat.
"I don't see that much difference in going from 63 to 58 members, except maybe losing a little luxury of party discipline," Shackleton said.
Term limits were approved in 1992 and first affected the incoming House class of 1998, and Shackleton said the more significant news is that many of the term-limited members will be replaced by lawmakers with less experience.
And State Rep. David Farhat, R-Muskegon, agreed, saying term limits force inexperienced people to hurriedly learn their complex duties.
"People have heard about a learning curve," Farhat said. "Well in a two-year term, you don't have time to figure out what you're doing.
"It's a learning cliff."
But Kolb rejected that argument, saying House members such as Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy, and Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, had big shoes to fill when they began their second terms as House Speaker and Majority Floor Leader, respectively.
"They took over top spots after only serving one term," Kolb said. "We've seen that before."
