By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-880528.mp3
LANSING, MI –
The Democratic majority in the state House will be down by one for most of this year. Governor Granholm has called a November special election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Jackson-area state Representative Mike Simpson.
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This means the southern Michigan state House district will go unrepresented until mid-November. Simpson was a Democrat who succumbed last month to a blood disorder. His district is considered a likely pickup for the G-O-P in the next election. The vacancy will do little to damage the Democrats' commanding 23-vote majority advantage in the House.
The August special primary and the November special election will be held at the same time as the regular elections. Governor Granholm's office says she wanted to avoid the added expense to taxpayers of holding the elections earlier. It is possible that one person could win the special election and the right to finish out the last six weeks of the term, and someone else could win the election for the new term that begins in January of 2011.