Michigan Democrats started 2023 with full control of state government for the first time since the 1980s.
On Tuesday, five months after their House majority evaporated, Democrats won two special elections to reclaim those seats and full control at the Michigan Capitol.
The results of the special elections had never been in great doubt.
But the details of scheduling and running special elections meant a long, slow winter for Democratic lawmakers in Lansing while the House was evenly divided between the two parties.
Republicans hope the Democrats’ renewed House majority is short-lived.
Republicans see an opening to deliver Michigan for Mr. Trump in November and to win control of the Michigan House, a goal that could be helped by newly redrawn legislative maps in the Detroit area.
All 110 Michigan House seats are up for election in November, including the two seats that were contested on Tuesday.
Before losing their House majority last year, Michigan Democrats raced through a list of longstanding policy goals that had been stymied during decades of divided government or Republican control of the state.
For the first time since the 1980s, Democrats in Michigan started 2023 in complete control of the state legislature. They found themselves in a political bind at the end of the year when two House members departed to become suburban mayors, leaving that chamber with an even partisan split and preventing Democrats from passing legislation without Republican backing.
Five months after losing their House majority, Democrats emerged victorious in two special elections on Tuesday, taking back control of the Michigan Capitol. Democratic candidates Mai Xiong, a commissioner for Macomb County, and Peter Herzberg, a member of the Westland City Council, defeated their Republican rivals, according to the Associated Press.
There had never been much question about the outcome of the special elections. Democrats won both of these liberal-leaning districts in 2022 with sizable margins. They are both located in the Detroit region. But while the House was evenly divided between the two parties, the logistics of holding special elections meant a long, slow winter for Democratic lawmakers in Lansing. Democrats control the majority in the State Senate, and Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, is a member of this body.
Republicans are hoping that the Democrats’ newly acquired House majority will not last long. Michigan, a swing state for a long time, is anticipated to play a crucial role in the presidential race this year. While President Biden is trying to reassemble the coalition that helped him win the state in 2020, early polling appears to be in favor of former President Donald J. Trump. Republicans hope that the newly redrawn legislative maps in the Detroit area will provide them with an opportunity to win control of the Michigan House and deliver Michigan to Mr. Trump in November. November brings elections for all 110 Michigan House seats, including the two that were contested on Tuesday.
A list of long-standing policy objectives that had been blocked by decades of divided government or Republican control of the state was quickly completed by Michigan Democrats before they lost their House majority last year. Ms. Whitmer and legislative Democrats codified civil rights for L. in 2023, and they passed new gun laws in a few months. G. C. S. T. Q. people overturned Republican laws that they claimed undermined labor unions and strengthened abortion rights.
November saw a slowdown in those efforts following the election of two House members: Lori M. Stone of Warren and Kevin Coleman of Westland. When Mr. Coleman and Ms. Stone were elected mayors, they were required by Michigan law to resign from the Legislature.
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