Michigan State Senate District 2

Michigan State Senate District 2 is represented by Sylvia Santana (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Michigan state senators represented an average of 265,380 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 260,832 residents.

About the office

Members of the Michigan State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.^[1] Senators are elected at the same time as the governor and serve four-year terms concurrent with the governor's term of office. Senate elections are offset by two years from U.S. Presidential elections (e.g., Presidential elections were in 2000 and 2004, senate elections were in 2002 and 2006). Michigan legislators assume office at noon on the first day of January.

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

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."^[2]

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[3]
Salary	Per diem
$71,685/year	No per diem is paid. Legislators receive an expense allowance of $10,800/year for session and interim.

Term limits

See also: State legislatures with term limits

The Michigan legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. The legislature has been term-limited since Michigan voters approved the Michigan Term Limits Act in 1992. The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was 2002.

In 2022, Michigan voters modified the term limits for Michigan state legislative members. Voters passed Michigan Proposal 1 in November 2022 which changed the term limits for state legislators from three two-year terms in the state House and two four-year terms in the state Senate to 12 combined years in the Legislature.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Michigan State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election to fill the vacancy or direct that the vacancy be filled at the next general election.^[4]^[5]

If the vacancy happens after the statewide primary election, the party organizations in the district select the party's nominee. The nominee must be voted on no later than 21 days after the vacancy occurred and at least 10 days before the general election.^[6]

See sources: Michigan Const. Art. 5, § 13

District map

Redistricting

2020-2024

See also: Redistricting in Michigan after the 2020 census

On July 26, 2024, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan approved state Senate district boundaries submitted by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) on June 27, 2024, and authorized Michigan's secretary of state to implement the plan for the 2026 elections:^[7]

“

On December 21, 2023, we unanimously held that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it drew the boundaries of thirteen state-legislative districts—seven House districts, and six Senate—predominantly on the basis of race. We therefore enjoined the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, from holding further elections in those districts as they were drawn. ... The Commission has now submitted a revised Senate map, which Plaintiffs agree 'eliminates the predominate use of race that characterized' the previous plan. ... We have reviewed the record before us and agree that the new Senate map complies with this court’s December 21, 2023, opinion and order. ... Federal law provides us no basis to reject the Commission’s remedial Senate plan. The Secretary of State may proceed to implement the Commission’s remedial Senate plan for the next election cycle.^[8]

”

The MICRC voted on June 26 to approve the state Senate map called Crane A1.^[9]

On March 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan approved new state House district boundaries drawn by the MICRC for use in the 2024 elections. According to the court order:^[10]

“

On December 21, 2023, we unanimously held that the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it drew the boundaries of thirteen state-legislative districts—seven House districts, and six Senate—predominantly on the basis of race. We therefore enjoined the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, from holding further elections in those districts as they are currently drawn. ... The Commission has now submitted a revised House plan, to which the plaintiffs have submitted several objections. We have reviewed the record before us and now overrule those objections.^[8]

”

The MICRC voted 10-3 on February 28, 2024, to adopt the new state House map known as “Motown Sound FC E1."

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan struck down the state House and Senate maps on December 21, 2023.^[11]

Elections

2022

See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan State Senate District 2

Incumbent Sylvia Santana defeated Harry Sawicki and Larry Betts in the general election for Michigan State Senate District 2 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Sylvia Santana (D)	68.0	43,258
	Harry Sawicki (R)	29.4	18,726
	Larry Betts (Working Class Party)	2.6	1,632
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	4

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 63,620
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 2

Incumbent Sylvia Santana defeated Maurice Sanders in the Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 2 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sylvia Santana	80.7	15,020
	Submit photo	Maurice Sanders	19.3	3,599

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,619
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Adel Mozip (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 2

Harry Sawicki advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 2 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Harry Sawicki	100.0	5,984

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,984
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Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for Michigan State Senate District 2

Larry Betts advanced from the Working Class Party convention for Michigan State Senate District 2 on June 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Larry Betts (Working Class Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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