Trump’s red wave dominates in Mid-Michigan
Republicans win across the board in Isabella County
America's electorate saw red on Nov. 8 as President-elect Donald Trump rode a crimson wave into the Oval Office.
The wave didn't crash in Mid-Michigan either. Republicans took advantage of Trump's momentum and won across the board in most major, local and statewide elections with a few exceptions.
That includes incumbent U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar and new Michigan State Representative-elect Roger Hauck. Hauck is a Mount Pleasant republican. He will replace Michigan Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter in Lansing.
At least 59 percent of Isabella County's electorate turned out to vote last week in a mix of face-to-face polling, absentee ballot and provisional votes, according to the final vote tallies released Nov. 9.
Voter turnout was slightly higher this year than in 2012, but still lower than overall turnout in 2008. According to CNN's voter demographic breakdown, people ages 30 years and older voted in favor of Trump and other Republicans.
At least 51 percent of white college graduates in Michigan leaned toward Trump, while people still in college leaned heavily to the left. Young people in Isabella County ages 18 to 24 years old voted mostly for Trump's opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
CNN reported that at least 35 percent of college-age students voted Trump, and possibly for other local Republican candidates.
Isabella County does not publish voter demographics, making it harder to discern how CMU students registered to vote in Mount Pleasant cast their ballots.
CMU senior and former College Republicans president Sara Robertson was Hauck's campaign manager. She said his win was contingent on grassroots support from older voters but also young people willing to connect with voters and knock on doors.
"I think that helped a lot," Robertson said. "Grassroots campaigns will always be something very important to winning a state representative race."
Overall, Trump's surge helped keep incumbent Republicans in important Michigan seats and put a few new GOP faces in office.
Incumbent Rep. John Moolenaar won against opponent Debra Wirth to stay in Washington representing Michigan's 4th District. Moolenaar won 51 percent of the Isabella County vote, trouncing Wirth by 2,616 votes.
Moolenaar told The Daily News, a newspaper covering Greenville, Belding and Montcalm counties, that he attributed some of his success on Tuesday night to Trump's influence on national politics.
"I believe we have a strong agenda to work on and a real opportunity to get things done," Moolenaar said in a story published on Nov. 10.
The Michigan's 4th Congressional District is predominantly white with 35 percent of its residents between the ages of 45 to 65 years old, according to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau voter data analyzing the state's electorate.
CNN's data shows that this age group helped carry Trump to victory in Michigan.
Robertson, a public relations major, agrees that Trump's success throughout the election may have had an impact on Hauck's race, even in a Republican stronghold like Mid-Michigan
"I think it was a combination of both," she said. "It was a good year to be an outsider. People are fed up with big name politicians. They wanted to elect people who are looking out for them.
