An election was held on November 3, 1998, to elect all 110 members of the Michigan House of Representatives for the 90th Michigan Legislature. In the election, the Republicans won a 58–52 majority from what had previously been a 58–52 Democratic majority.
History In the 1996 general election, Democrats won a 58–52 majority in the Michigan House of Representatives against the Republicans.
Term limits for various state officers were added to the Michigan Constitution via ballot proposal in 1992. Members of the state House were limited to only serving six years for their life, starting after the adoption of the amendment. The term limits were upheld in a federal court case in February 1998. This meant that the 1998 election would be the first Michigan state House election in which legislators would be barred for re-election by term limits. There were 64 incumbents who were term limited.
The 1998 state primary election was held on August 4. The general election was held on November 3.
In the 1998 general election, Republicans won a 58–52 majority against the Democrats. After the election, Republican Charles R. Perricone was elected speaker of the state House. Michael J. Hanley was selected by the Democrats as House minority leader.
The state representatives were sworn in on January 13, 1999. Of the 110 members, 64 were newcomers to the state House.
Results The following are the official election results from the Michigan Secretary of State.
Statewide Party Candi-dates Votes Seats No. % No. +/– % Republican Party 109 1,473,780 49.78% 58 6 52.72% Democratic Party 110 1,455,416 49.16% 52 6 47.27% Libertarian Party 36 27,789 0.93% 0 0.00% Natural Law Party 2 1618 0.05% 0 0.00% Reform Party 2 885 0.02% 0 0.00% Independent 1 572 0.01% 0 0.00% Write-ins 1 3 0.00% 0 0.00%Total 261 2,960,063 100.00% 110 100.00%
By district
See also 1998 Michigan Senate election
References