Battleground 109: New District, New Candidates
Every ten years, residents nationwide fill out the census, and that data is used to draw the congressional and state legislative districts in all 50 states. Locally, since the U.P. population has remained stagnant this century, the state legislative districts were essentially unchanged. This changed in 2018 when the advocacy group “Voters Not Politicians” gathered enough signatures to put a proposal on the ballot to create an Independent Citizens Commission to take politics (and the legislature) out of the redistricting process and make the most competitive districts possible.
The 109th District 2001–2021. All of Alger, Luce, Schoolcraft, and all but Ishpeming and Powell Townships in Marquette County
New District
The proposal was approved with flying colors through the groans of individual state legislators. Twelve citizens from Adam who didn’t know each other were charged with drawing the congressional, state senate, and state house maps. After a healthy debate, they decided on a plan that made substantial changes to every northern Michigan district. The new commission put Luce and Schoolcraft in the 108th district while adding Baraga County along with the townships of Breen, Felch, Norway, Wacedah, and West Branch townships along with the city of Norway in Dickinson County into the 109th. This changed the makeup of the district from having a Democratic base from 57% down to 52%, making it one of the premier battleground seats in the entire state.
The 109th District created in 2021
The 2022 contest was another open seat with Representative Sara Cambensy term-limited. The Democratic Primary produced the third straight time a Marquette City Commissioner won the nomination in Jenn Hill, while community volunteer Melody Wanger was again victorious on the Republican side. The wind seemed to be at the GOP’s back with a very unpopular president, Joe Biden, and Governor Whitmer, whose least popular area in the state was northern Michigan. The race reached a fever pitch near the end of October when the GOP made a significant push for the seat. Hill was able to win using the old Democratic playbook of winning Marquette County while hemorrhaging her losses elsewhere to ensure the seat in the Democratic column, which also gave the party the majority for the first time in 12 years.
2022 Jenn Hill (D) vs Melody Wagner (R) by City and Township
2024
With 2024 being a presidential election and the district showing strong support for former President Trump in the past, local and state Republicans feel that 2024 is the year they can finally get the 109th district. In order to do this, some leaders felt a new candidate who previously hadn’t run, who had great name identification, and who could also appeal to independent voters while also getting some voters who had previously voted Democratic. It was just after Christmas in 2023 when longtime weatherman Karl Bohnak announced he was running as a republican stating on his last local newscast that he felt Representative Hill was not representing the area well and that he could provide a voting record he felt the district wanted in Lansing.
With Jenn Hill casting a majority of the votes with the slim Democratic majority, two Democrats and three Republicans challenged her to run for the seat, thinking they were the best ones to represent the area in Lansing. Many in Lansing felt that Hill was vulnerable in a primary and Bohnak was unproven as a candidate. The primary results were a blowout for Hill and Bohnak, setting up an epic November contest.
Bohnak gives the GOP its best chance in 70 years to win a seat because of his name identification, and they feel demographics on his side of an everchanging conservative district. In our next article, we will dive into specific areas that will tell us who will win next Tuesday.
Other Articles in the Battleground 109 Series
