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Michigan, State Representative, District 31

Michigan House of Representatives District 31
Current incumbentWilliam Sowerby Democratic Party
Population86,265
Gender51.9% Female, 48.1% Male
Race78.3% White, 16.7% Black, 2.6% Two or More Races, 1.4% Asian, 0.6% Other, 0.4% Native American
Ethnicity97.6% Non-Hispanic, 2.4% Hispanic

Michigan's thirty-first state house district is held by Democratic Representative William Sowerby.

As of the 2010 census, a total of 86,265 civilians reside within Michigan's thirty-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 31

Incumbent William Sowerby (D) defeated Lisa Valerio-Nowc (R) in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

William Sowerby (D)
59.9
20,791

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Lisa Valerio-Nowc (R)
40.1
13,925

Total votes: 34,716
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent William Sowerby defeated Michelle Robertson in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

William Sowerby (D)
56.2
5,474

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Michelle Robertson (D)
43.8
4,271

Total votes: 9,745
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Lisa Valerio-Nowc defeated Catherine Osinski Dinka in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Lisa Valerio-Nowc (R)
50.5
3,002

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Catherine Osinski Dinka (R)
49.5
2,947

Total votes: 5,949

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 Marilyn Lane (D) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.

William Sowerby defeated Lisa Valerio-Nowc and Michael Saliba in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 General Election, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Sowerby 56.16% 22,735
Republican Lisa Valerio-Nowc 38.89% 15,743
Libertarian Michael Saliba 4.96% 2,007
Total Votes 40,485
Source: Michigan Secretary of State

William Sowerby defeated Michael Brewington in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 Democratic primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.png William Sowerby 78.31% 4,561
Democratic Michael Brewington 21.69% 1,263
Total Votes 5,824

Lisa Valerio-Nowc defeated Austin Negipe in the Michigan House of Representatives District 31 Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Republican Primary, 2016

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Republican Green check mark transparent.png Lisa Valerio-Nowc 66.87% 2,206
Republican Austin Negipe 33.13% 1,093
Total Votes 3,299

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 Marilyn Lane defeated Kathy Blanke and Juliana Goldwater in the Democratic primary. Phil Rode was unopposed in the Republican primary. Lane defeated Rode in the general election.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarilyn Lane Incumbent 61.1% 15,769
Republican Phil Rode 38.9% 10,054
Total Votes 25,823

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMarilyn Lane Incumbent 69.8% 3,803
Kathy Blanke 18.4% 1,004
Juliana Goldwater 11.8% 643
Total Votes 5,450

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 Marilyn Lane (D) defeated Lynn Evans (R) and James Miller (L) in the general election. Lane was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Evans defeated Phil Rode in the Republican primary.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31, General Election, 2012

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMarilyn Lane Incumbent 61.7% 24,443
Republican Lynn Evans 33.9% 13,404
Libertarian James Miller 4.4% 1,742
Total Votes 39,589

Michigan House of Representatives, District 31 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngLynn Evans 61.9% 2,625
Phil Rode 38.1% 1,618
Total Votes 4,243

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2016, candidates for Michigan House of Representatives District 31 raised a total of $1,026,586. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $39,484 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Michigan House of Representatives District 31

Year Amount Candidates Average
2016 $37,799 5 $7,560
2014 $92,994 4 $23,249
2012 $82,747 3 $27,582
2010 $50,221 4 $12,555
2008 $122,852 2 $61,426
2006 $202,038 2 $101,019
2004 $300,920 3 $100,307
2002 $59,469 1 $59,469
2000 $77,546 2 $38,773
Total $1,026,586 26 $39,484