UPDATE: Hauck wins seat in 99th District State House race
Mid-Michigan Republican will replace Michigan Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter
Editor's Note: This story was updated with new information on Nov. 10.
Mid-Michigan Republican Roger Hauck is the winner of the hotly contested 99th State House race.
Hauck, a businessman and former Union Township board member, beat his his Democratic opponent Bryan Mielke.
Mielke was also a Union Township board member and planning commissioner. The tight race ended with the candidates separated by 729 votes, according to final vote tallies released by the Isabella County Clerk on Nov. 9.
With 12,762 votes, Hauck won more than 51 percent of the vote.
Hauck will replace current Michigan Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter, a fellow republican from Mount Pleasant.
Hauck and a group of his family, surrogates and supporters celebrated his victory over Mielke at the Green Spot Pub, 808 N. Mission St.
“It feels good,” Hauck said. “It was a hard fought battle. Bryan’s a good campaigner, so this win feels good. "
Even with township leadership experience, Hauck describes himself as a non-politician. He is a graduate of Beal City High School, but did not attend college.
College Democrats at Central Michigan University galvanized around Mielke early on, hoping to flip the typically GOP-controlled district blue. With Hauck holding strong, that doesn’t seem to be possible.
Both campaigns used online resources, but ran an impressive ground game with voting drives and going around neighborhoods knocking on doors. Hauck’s ground game won out.
“In races like this, it’s all face to face,” he said. “People need to put a name with a face.”
As for CMU College Republicans President Mackenzie Flynn, the victory is a strong sign that Mid-Michigan will stay red for a good while.
“It’s great to keep the momentum up for Republicans,” Flynn said. “I think Hauck is a fresh face and will do a tremendous job up here in Mount Pleasant and the surrounding areas. As seen with the over 7,000 doors he knocked on this year, he is a hard worker and that ethic will show in his continued support and dedication to Mid-Michigan.”
