Democrat Haley Stevens hangs on to Michigan House seat

Rep. Haley Stevens (D) is projected to retain her seat in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District after beating Republican Eric Esshaki.

The Associated Press called the race for Stevens on Thursday. She received 50.2 percent of the vote to Esshaki’s 47.8 percent, according to the AP. 

Stevens, 37, will serve a second term in the House representing southeast Michigan after she flipped the seat in 2018, when she won by 7 percentage points. 

The Democratic lawmaker, who once served as chief of staff for former President Obama’s automobile rescue task force, fended off a GOP challenge from Esshaki, a 36-year-old attorney and former nurse who ran for public office for the first time.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had categorized the race as “leaning Democratic” ahead of Election Day.

Stevens won an open seat in 2018 after former Rep. David Trott (R) decided not to seek a third term. President Trump won the district in 2016 by 4 points.