Hall's District Added To Dem Battleground Map With $700K Ad Reservation

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/15/2026) House Democrats said they're adding House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township)'s 42nd District to their battleground map and reserving more than $700,000 in broadcast advertising. This message came after their new polling showed Democratic challenger Nick Rowe reversing Hall's initial 52%-44% lead to a 49% to 48% lead for Rowe after voters were given additional information about both candidates.

The Aug. 31-Sept. 5 poll of 350 district voters has a margin of error of +/- 5.2%. The survey was conducted by the House Democratic Fund's (HDF) pollster, Patinkin Research Strategies.

They said Rowe's advantage increased to 51% to 46% after respondents were given “additional information about Hall's reported allegations of domestic violence or threats of violence and his legislative record," linking a report from Fox 2 Detroit and Michigan Independent.

“We’re putting Matt Hall and Michigan Republicans on notice," said Sam Lundry, executive director of the Michigan House Democratic Fund. “This reservation ensures that voters will hear the contrast in this race and makes clear that we are prepared to compete wherever Republicans are vulnerable. Our path to the majority is expanding and we have the resources and strong candidates to take advantage of it.”

The poll found 30% of respondents approved of Hall's performance as a state representative, while 43% disapproved. Forty percent said they would prefer a different representative.

“Matt Hall has used his state House majority to create chaos and stand in the way of progress while Michigan families pay the price," said Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton). “The fact that his own district is now competitive speaks volumes about what voters think of his leadership. Taking back the House means ending the dysfunction and delivering lower costs, stronger public schools, and an economy that works for everyone.”

AdImpact reported this morning that a combined $431,120 has been reserved by “Rowe for HD-42,” with the spending slated to begin the week of Oct. 13, a sign that at least part of the committed money is already on the books.

One political operative with traditional ties to the Republicans suggested that Democrats finally have a candidate with a strong profile in the right environment who could, at the very least, throw Hall off his game. The operative called it “a savvy move” that could force the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) to pull resources from the districts of vulnerable incumbents like Rep. Steve Frisbie (R-Battle Creek) or Rep. Karl Bohnak (R-Negaunee) to “save his skin.”

The source also acknowledged that if polling doesn't show a competitive race in a few weeks, the HDF could, likewise, cancel the reservation. Rowe's post-primary report shows he has $3,785.38 in the bank after spending $475 in his primary victory over Bill Korb, 59% to 41%.

Combined, the two Democratic candidates received 12,071 votes to Hall's 9,443 votes in the August primary. Hall was running unopposed in the primary. In 2024, Hall won re-election with 64.5% of the vote.

“Our swing seat candidates would like to send a note of thanks to the Democrats for allocating all these resources to a Republican seat that was won by 15%,” said HRCC spokesperson Gustavo Portela, “We got the push poll via text and had people actually answer it in the negative on purpose. We are delighted that the Democrats are chasing rainbows while we use our significant resource advantage, not to just maintain, but grow our majority.”

Rowe, a Richland Democrat, served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years until 2022. He is a full-time faculty member at Western Michigan University and mentors students, sits on university committees and supports student groups related to veterans and the military. He also coaches middle school lacrosse. Rowe has a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and also holds a Master of Business Administration.

He is married and has four children, three of whom attend Gull Lake Public Schools.

The Democrats' last serious attempt against a sitting House Speaker was in 2012 when then-Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer made a run at then-House Speaker Jase Bolger due to his connection to the Rep. Roy Schmidt party-switching affair with around $450,000 in hard money. Bolger had $776,000 at his disposal, about half of it coming from the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), according to campaign finance records from the time.

However, Bolger said he was able to raise much of the money nationally as the chair of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, so nothing was diverted away from the Republican caucus members toward his race.

Bolger won 51% to 49% against a candidate who had initially filed a financial waiver.

“It cost us nothing from our planned efforts,” Bolger said, “But, it cost Mark Brewer his job. A real win-win.”

Brewer responded that Bolger has never forgiven him for exposing the “corrupt scheme” he and Schmidt cooked up in recruiting a “fake Democratic candidate” to run against Schmidt in the party switch a roo.

“However, that backfired on Bolger because it led to the election of now-Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids)," Brewer said.