Despite being state representative districts 83 and 84 in prior years, last year’s redistricting and this year’s election has effectively combined the two areas into a mega district now labeled as Michigan’s 98th state representative district.
The new 98th district covers all of Huron and the eastern part of Tuscola Counties, both of which were under old district 84’s purview, as well as adding Sanilac County, which was once part of old district 83. The 98th district also includes a small portion of Lapeer County, and saw candidates who had run in the 2018 house race for district 83 reappear on the ballot in this year’s primary.
For instance, former Sanilac County Drain Commissioner Greg Alexander, who had been defeated in 2018 by incumbent Andrew Beeler of Fort Gratiot, has thrown his hat back in the ring, taking the Republican nomination for the 98th district over fellow Republican Joe O’Mara in August’s primary by almost 400 votes.
Meanwhile, as Beeler prepares to run in the new 64th District, which covers eastern St. Clair County and Sanilac County’s Worth Township, the previous incumbent for district 84, Phil Green, is running in the new 67th district, which covers parts of Genesee, Lapeer and Tuscola Counties.
With Alexander beating several opponents for his party’s nomination, his democratic opponent, newcomer Robert Mroczek, ran his primary unopposed. Both men agree that the district is in need of better infrastructure, though they disagree about whose experience would be better suited: Alexander’s, who has served in a public position connected to infrastructure when he served as drain commissioner in 2008, or Mroczek, who cites his financial background and knowledge as factors in his favor at the capital.
Both men mentioned the need for better quality internet in the area, but for different reasons. While Alexander points to the pandemic and working from home having caused a slew of technical issues for residents, Mroczek sees better internet as a way of bringing people back to the area, if not attracting new faces altogether.
He told the Huron Daily Tribune that “Government has neglected the small town, so how are we going to attract people back to this area? There is no incentive,” adding that “We need to be able to bring people back. We need broadband high-speed internet and we need to be ready for people who want to come back to the area.”
Again, Mroczek and Alexander are running for the 98th district, which now covers Huron and Sanilac Counties, east Tuscola County and a bit of Lapeer County, with residents able to cast their vote on Tuesday, November 8 until 8:00 p.m. at their local voting precinct.
