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Get to know your Representative in D.C.

Three New Michigan Congressmen
Photo courtesy of huizengaforcongress.com
Three of the five new Michigan Congressmen (l-r, Dan Benishek, Bill Huizenga and Justin Amash)

Michigan's congressional delegation is getting a makeover. One-third of its 15 members will be new when they're sworn in later this afternoon at the Capitol.  Here's a rundown of who is in... and who is out:

1st District

Republican Dan Benishek won the race to succeed veteran Democrat Bart Stupak in Michigan’s 1st District which covers all of the Upper Peninsula and parts of the northern Lower Peninsula. Stupak announced last April that he would not seek a 10th term in Washington. Benishek was a Tea-Party favorite and was endorsed by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

2nd District

Republican Bill Huizenga beat Democrat Fred Johnson in Michigan’s 3rd District in western Michigan.  Huizenga takes the seat left open by Republican Pete Hoekstra who was a GOP candidate for governor in the state’s 2010 primary.

3rd District

West Michigan freshman state lawmaker Justin Amash beat his Democratic challenger Pat Miles in Michigan’s 3rd District which covers parts of west Michigan. At 30 years old, Amash will become one of the nation’s youngest U.S. Congressmen.  He had Tea-Party backing.

4th District

Republican Dave Camp won an 11th term as Representative of Michigan’s 4th District.  Camp beat his democrat challenger Jerry Campbell.  The 4th District includes parts of Saginaw County, as well as northern and central Michigan.

5th District

Flint Democrat Dale Kildee beat Republican challenger John Kupiec.  This will be Kildee’s 18th term in Congress.

6th District

Republican incumbent Fred Upton beat his Democratic challenger Don Conney in the state's 6th District, which covers parts of Michigan's southwest.  He's been in Congress for more than 20 years.

7th District

Republican Tim Walberg beat Democratic incumbent Mark Schauer in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, which covers Jackson, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Walberg takes back the seat that he lost to Schauer two years ago in the 2008 election.

8th District

GOP Representative Mike Rogers of Howell has kept his seat in Michigan’s 8th District.  He beat his Democratic opponent, Lance Enderle, who became the party’s nominee only four weeks after the primary.

9th District

Democratic incumbent Gary Peters beat his Republican challenger Rocky Raczkowski in Michigan’s 9th District. The 9th covers most of Oakland County. This will be Peters' 2nd term in Congress.

10th District

Republican Candice Miller won her fifth term as the 10th District’s Congresswoman.  She beat Democratic challenger Henry Yanez.  Miller is Michigan’s former Secretary of State.

 11th District

Republican Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia has won a fifth term in the U.S. House.  He beat back Democratic challenger Natalie Mosher of Canton Township.    

 12th District

Democratic Congressman Sander Levin has won a fifteenth term representing Michigan’s 12th District in D.C.  Before this new session, Levin was the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He is the brother of Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin.

13th District

Democrat Hansen Clarke takes over the seat of former Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's mom, in Michigan's 13th District, which covers the eastside of Detroit.  Clarke, a State Senator, beat his Republican challenger John Hauler.

14th District

Former House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, a Democrat, beat his challenger Don Ukrainec in Michigan’s 14th District.  This will be Conyers’ twenty-fourth term in office.

15th District

Dearborn Democrat John Dingell has won a twenty-eighth term in the U.S. Congress but, it wasn’t easy for the 84-year old who was challenged by Tea-Party backed Republican Rob Steele. The district includes the far southeastern portion of the state, including Monroe and Ann Arbor. Dingell is the longest serving Representative in the U.S. House.

Zoe Clark is Michigan Public's Political Director. In this role, Clark guides coverage of the state Capitol, elections, and policy debates.