Michigan's 23rd Senate district

Michigan's 23rd Senate district is one of 38 districts in the Michigan Senate. The 23rd district was created by the 1850 Michigan Constitution, as the 1835 constitution only permitted a maximum of eight senate districts.^[2][3] It has been represented by Republican Jim Runestad since 2023, succeeding Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr.

Michigan's 23rd State Senate district
Senator	Jim Runestad R–White Lake
Demographics	85% White 4% Black 5% Hispanic 2% Asian 3% Multiracial
Population (2022)	267,682
Notes	[1]

Geography

District 23 encompasses part of Oakland County.^[4]

2011 Apportionment Plan

District 23, as dictated by the 2011 Apportionment Plan, was based in Lansing and covered most of Ingham County, also included the surrounding communities of East Lansing, Mason, Haslett, Holt, Okemos, Edgemont Park, Meridian Township, and Delhi Township.^[5]

The district was located entirely within Michigan's 8th congressional district, and overlapped with the 67th, 68th, and 69th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives.^[6]

List of senators

Senator	Party		Dates	Residence	Notes
Israel V. Harris		Democratic	1853–1854	Tallmadge	[7][8][9]
Mordecai L. Hopkins		Democratic	1855–1856	Ottawa County	[7][10][11]
Marcus B. Wilcox		Republican	1857–1858	Pinckney	[7][12]
Robert Crouse		Republican	1859–1860	Hartland	[7][13]
John H. Galloway		Republican	1861–1862	Howell	[7][14]
William A. Clark		Democratic	1863–1864	Howell	[7][15]
Hugh McCurdy		Democratic	1865–1866	Corunna	[7][16]
Willard B. Arms		Republican	1867–1868	Fentonville	[7][17]
Thaddeus G. Smith		Republican	1869–1870	Fentonville	[7][18]
Josiah W. Begole		Republican	1871–1872	Flint	[7][19]
Ira H. Butterfield		Republican	1873–1874	Lapeer	[7][20]
Jeremiah Jenks		Republican	1875–1876	Huron County	[7][21]
Dan P. Foote		Democratic	1877–1878	Saginaw	[7][22]
William H. P. Benjamin		Democratic	1879–1880	Bridgeport	[7][23]
John Welch		Republican	1881–1882	East Saginaw	[7][24]
John Roost		Democratic	1883–1884	Holland	[7][25]
John W. Moon		Republican	1885–1886	Muskegon	[7][26]
Lewis G. Palmer		Republican	1887–1890	Big Rapids	[7][27]
Aaron B. Brown		Patrons[a]	1891–1892	Sheridan	[7][28][29]
Charles L. Brundage		Republican	1893–1896	Muskegon	[7][30]
William Savidge		Republican	1897–1898	Spring Lake	[7][31]
Suel A. Sheldon		Republican	1899–1900	Berlin	[7][32]
William D. Kelly		Republican	1901–1904	Muskegon	[7][33]
Suel A. Sheldon		Republican	1905–1906	Berlin	[7][32]
Luke Lugers		Republican	1907–1908	Holland	[7][34]
Tom J. G. Bolt		Republican	1909–1910	Ravenna	[7][35]
John Vanderwerp		Republican	1911–1912	Muskegon	[7][36]
Joseph B. Hadden		Progressive	1913–1914	Holland	[7][37]
Edward Hofma		Republican	1915–1916	Spring Lake	[7][38]
Vincent A. Martin		Republican	1917–1918	Fruitport	[7][39]
William M. Connelly		Republican	1919–1920	Spring Lake	[7][40]
Arthur J. Bolt		Republican	1921–1922	Muskegon	[7][41]
William M. Connelly		Republican	1923–1924	Spring Lake	[7][40]
Vincent A. Martin		Republican	1925–1928	Fruitport	[7][39]
Gordon F. Van Eenenaam		Republican	1929–1936	Muskegon	[7][42]
Earnest C. Brooks		Democratic	1937–1938	Holland	[7][43]
John Vanderwerp		Republican	1939	Muskegon	Died in office.[7][36]
Earnest C. Brooks		Democratic	1941–1942	Holland	[7][43]
Frank E. McKee		Republican	1943–1944	Muskegon	[7][44]
William C. Vandenberg		Republican	1945–1950	Holland	[7][45]
Frank E. McKee		Republican	1951	Muskegon	Died in office.[7][44]
Clyde H. Geerlings		Republican	1951–1964	Holland	[7][46]
Harold J. Volkema		Republican	1965–1967	Holland	Died in office.[7][47]
Gary Byker		Republican	1968–1978	Hudsonville	[7][48]
Edgar Fredricks		Republican	1979–1990	Holland	[7][49]
William Van Regenmorter		Republican	1991–1994	Jenison	[7][50]
Joanne G. Emmons		Republican	1995–2002	Big Rapids	[7][51]
Virgil Bernero		Democratic	2003–2005	Lansing	Resigned after elected mayor of Lansing.[7][52]
Gretchen Whitmer		Democratic	2006–2014	East Lansing	[7][53]
Curtis Hertel Jr.		Democratic	2015–2022	East Lansing	[7][54][55]
Jim Runestad		Republican	2023–present	White Lake	[56]

Recent election results

2022

2022 Michigan Senate election, District 23^[57]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Una Hepburn	12,943	57.4
	Democratic	Michael J. Wiese	9,602	42.6
Total votes			22,545	100
General election
	Republican	Jim Runestad (incumbent)	78,175	59.4
	Democratic	Una Hepburn	53,474	40.6
Total votes			131,649	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

2018

2018 Michigan Senate election, District 23^[57]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andrea Pollock	6,811	53.9
	Republican	Nancy Denny	5,833	46.1
Total votes			12,644	100
General election
	Democratic	Curtis Hertel Jr. (incumbent)	73,189	68.5
	Republican	Andrea Pollock	33,721	31.5
Total votes			106,910	100
	Democratic hold

2014

2014 Michigan Senate election, District 23^[57]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Curtis Hertel Jr.	10,963	69.8
	Democratic	Larry Hutchinson	2,436	15.5
	Democratic	Harold Leeman Jr.	2,299	14.6
Total votes			15,698	100
General election
	Democratic	Curtis Hertel Jr.	50,824	66.1
	Republican	Darrell McNeill	26,076	33.9
Total votes			76,900	100
	Democratic hold

Federal and statewide results

Year	Office	Results[58]
2020	President	Biden 66.6 – 31.5%
2018	Senate	Stabenow 66.9 – 31.2%
	Governor	Whitmer 68.7 – 28.4%
2016	President	Clinton 61.9 – 32.2%
2014	Senate	Peters 66.0 – 30.7%
	Governor	Schauer 58.8 – 39.3%
2012	President	Obama 64.8 – 34.2%
	Senate	Stabenow 68.3 – 28.5%

Historical district boundaries

Map	Description	Apportionment Plan	Notes
	Allegan County Barry County (part) Yankee Springs Township Ottawa County Van Buren County	1964 Apportionment Plan	[59]
	Allegan County Barry County (part) Prairieville Township Kalamazoo County (part) Alamo Township Kent County (part) Grandville Ottawa County Van Buren County (part) Arlington Township Bangor Bloomingdale Township Columbia Township Covert Township Geneva Township Gobles South Haven South Haven Township	1972 Apportionment Plan	[60]
	Allegan County Ottawa County (part) Allendale Township Blendon Township Chester Township Coopersville Crockery Township Ferrysburg Georgetown Township Grand Haven Grand Haven Township Holland Holland Township Hudsonville Olive Township Park Township Polkston Township Port Sheldon Township Robinson Township Spring Lake Township Tallmadge Township Wright Township Zeeland Zeeland Township	1982 Apportionment Plan	[61]
	Barry County Ionia County Isabella County Mecosta County Montcalm County	1992 Apportionment Plan	[62]
	Ingham County (part) Alaiedon Township Aurelius Township Delhi Township East Lansing (part) Ingham Township Lansing (part) Lansing Township Leroy Township Locke Township Meridian Township Onondaga Township Wheatfield Township White Oak Township Williamston Williamstown Township	2001 Apportionment Plan	[63]
	Ingham County (part) Alaiedon Township Aurelius Township Bunker Hill Township Delhi Township East Lansing Ingham Township Lansing Lansing Township Leslie Leslie Township Mason Meridian Township Onondaga Township Stockbridge Township Vevay Township White Oak Township	2011 Apportionment Plan	[64]

Notes

1. The Patrons of Industry were a farming organization founded in Port Huron, Michigan which, by 1890, had begun participating in political action independent of other political parties at the state level.