Women To Hold Record Numbers Of Seats In House, Senate

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/09/2026) Women will hold a record number of seats in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature beginning in January, with 16 serving in the Senate and 46 in the House.

Ten incoming female senators will join six returning women, bringing women’s representation to 42.1% of the 38-member Senate. That surpasses last year’s total of 14 female senators.

In the House, 20 incoming women will join 26 returning female lawmakers. The resulting 46 women will account for 41.8% of the 110-member chamber, exceeding last year’s total of 44.

Together, women will hold 62 of the Legislature’s 148 seats, or 41.9%, compared with 58 last year.

The numbers mark a substantial change from the Legislature Lorraine Beebe entered in 1967. The Dearborn Republican was only the third woman elected to the Michigan Senate and the first Republican woman to serve in the chamber.

Back then, in order for me to use the facilities, the sergeants-at-arms had to make sure there were no men in the chamber's bathroom before they gave the all-clear for her Beebe enter. That's because there was no bathroom for women in 1967.

Sixty years after Beebe took office, women will hold more than two out of every five seats in both the House and Senate, according to the Center for Women and Politics. Readers only need to go to 1982 to find the last year with no female senators. In 1976, only 9 of the 110 House members were women.