Brandon Strong has won Michigan's 78th District state House seat, defeating Democrat Rachel Gross and Libertarian Ben DeJong in a race that covers a swath of west Michigan communities including Hastings and Lake Odessa. Unofficial Associated Press totals showed Strong pulling in 24,212 votes to Gross's 15,296 and DeJong's 1,003, with 100% of votes reported.
A Decisive Margin in a Rural House District
The results, first reported by MLive, cap a general-election contest that pitted Strong against two rivals with sharply different résumés and priorities. MLive's reporting describes the 78th District as covering portions of Ionia, Barry and Eaton counties and including the communities of Ionia, Lowell, Hastings and Lake Odessa, though a separate preview from The Daily News described the district as also including portions of Kent County.
Strong's path to Tuesday's win began over the summer. He won the Republican primary on Aug. 4, according to the earlier MLive report, taking 5,471 votes for 50% of the vote in that contest. The seat had been held by state Rep. Gina Johnsen, a Republican from Lake Odessa who ran for state Senate instead of seeking reelection to the House, per The Daily News.
Who Is Brandon Strong
Strong is executive director of Barry County Christian Schools, a role noted in MLive's election coverage. The Daily News reported that Strong, 43, of Hastings Township, has spent 20 years working in education and also leads the Barry County Christian Education Foundation. A candidate profile from Lowell's First Look adds biographical detail: Strong and his family returned to Michigan and settled in Hastings in 2015, and he later earned a master's degree in educational leadership from South Dakota State University.
On the campaign trail, Strong named education, state spending, roads and transportation infrastructure, and taxes among his top priorities, according to The Daily News. He also said he wanted to work toward eliminating Michigan's state income tax, the outlet reported.
How Gross and DeJong Framed Their Campaigns
Rachel Gross, the Democrat in the race, is a registered nurse who described herself as bringing 30 years of patient advocacy and leadership experience, according to MLive's reporting. The Daily News reported that Gross supported MiCare, including House Bill 4407, which proposes creating a universal, publicly funded health care system for Michigan residents, and that she opposed diverting public education dollars into a voucher system.
Libertarian candidate Ben DeJong worked as an operational excellence specialist at University of Michigan Health–Sparrow and served as a Lake Odessa village council trustee, per MLive. The Daily News reported that DeJong's priorities centered on privacy, local control and government efficiency, including limiting taxpayer-funded mass surveillance.
The vote totals reported Tuesday are unofficial Associated Press figures. The Michigan Department of State notes that all election-night results posted on its results pages remain unofficial until certified by the county and/or state board of canvassers.
