Kent County is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 657,974, making it the fourth most populous county in Michigan, and the largest outside of the Detroit area. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county was set off in 1831, and organized in 1836. It is named for New York jurist and legal scholar James Kent, who represented the Michigan Territory in its dispute with Ohio over the Toledo Strip.
Cutlerville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,849 as of the 2020 census. The community is located mostly within Byron Township to the west with a smaller portion within Gaines Township to the east.
Northview is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,541 at the 2010 census. The community is located mostly within Plainfield Township with a very small portion extending into Grand Rapids Township to the south.
Allendale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,579 at the 2010 census. It is located within Allendale Charter Township, occupying approximately the northern two-thirds of the township, from the eastern boundary with the Grand River west along Pierce St., north along 75th Ave., then west along Lake Michigan Drive (M-45) to the western boundary of the township. It is a part of the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan combined statistical area, and is an exurb of Grand Rapids, due to its major commuter routes into the city.
Advance Newspapers, based in Hudsonville, Michigan, published weekly community newspapers for Kent County, Michigan and portions of Muskegon, Ottawa, and Allegan counties. Advance Newspapers started as an independent company, later purchased by Advance Publications which later placed them into their MLive Media Group unit. MLive Media Group ceased publication of the seven community newspapers as of January 27, 2019, citing the "cost of publishing the products exceeded the company’s ability to sustain production."
Michigan's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district that fully contains the 15 counties of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and 20 counties of Northern Michigan in the Lower Peninsula. The district is currently represented by Republican Jack Bergman.
Richard Franklin Vander Veen was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Michigan's 10th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It consists of southern Macomb County, Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.
Michigan's 9th congressional district is a United States congressional district located in The Thumb and northern portions of Metro Detroit of the State of Michigan. Counties either wholly or partially located within the district include: Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Lapeer, St. Clair, Macomb and Oakland. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+18, it is the most Republican district in Michigan.
Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States congressional district located in the state of Michigan. The current 4th district contains much of Michigan's old 2nd district, and includes all of Allegan and Van Buren counties, as well as portions of Ottawa, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Berrien counties. In 2022, the district was redrawn to start in St. Joseph Township and extend north to Port Sheldon Township. The 4th is currently represented by Republican Bill Huizenga, who previously represented the old 2nd district.
Michigan's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan and portions of Central Michigan. The current district, drawn in 2022, centers around Lansing, Michigan's state capital, and includes all of Clinton, Shiawassee, Ingham, and Livingston counties, as well as portions of Eaton, Gennessee, and Oakland counties.
Michigan's 5th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It includes all of Branch, Cass, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, and St. Joseph counties, southern Berrien County, most of Calhoun County, and far southern Kalamazoo County. The district is represented by Republican Tim Walberg.
Michigan's 2nd congressional district is a United States congressional district in Western Michigan. The current 2nd district contains much of Michigan's old 4th congressional district, and includes all of Barry, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Ionia, Isabella, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo, Oceana, and Osceola counties, as well as portions of Eaton, Kent, Midland, Muskegon, Ottawa and Wexford counties. Republican John Moolenaar, who had previously represented the old 4th district, was re-elected to represent the new 2nd in 2022.
Michigan's 8th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Central Michigan. The district was first created in 1873, after redistricting following the 1870 census. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of all of Clinton, Ingham, and Livingston counties, and included the southern portion of Shiawassee and the northern portion of Oakland counties. From 2013 to 2023, the district no longer covered Clinton or Shiawassee counties and instead covered more of Oakland County, including Rochester. In 2023, the district was redrawn to be centered on the city of Flint and the "Tri-Cities" metropolitan area around Saginaw, Midland, Bay City. The district includes all of Saginaw and Bay counties, almost all of Genesee County, and portions of Midland and Tuscola counties.
William Patrick Huizenga is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2011, representing the state's 4th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Huizenga served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009. His district, numbered as the 2nd from 2011 to 2023, covers much of Southwestern Michigan, including Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Holland.
The politics of Michigan, currently a true swing state in presidential elections, are divided. Until 2016, Michigan was considered part of the Democrats' "Blue Wall." Governors since the 1970s have alternated between the two parties, and statewide offices including attorney general, secretary of state, and senator have been held by members of both parties in varying proportions, though the state currently is represented by two Democratic U.S. Senators and Democrats hold every statewide office. The Democratic Party has the minimum majority of two seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the Michigan Legislature, though the GOP will take a 58-52 majority in 2025. The state's congressional delegation is commonly split, with one party or the other typically holding a narrow majority: Democrats currently have a 7-6 majority, while there will be a 7-6 Republican majority in the upcoming 119th Congress beginning in January 2025.
The Grand Rapids metropolitan area is a triangular shaped Metro Triplex, in West Michigan, which fans out westward from the primary hub city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the other two metro hubs of Muskegon and Holland. The metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,059,113 in 2017. The region, noted in particular for its western edge abutting the Lake Michigan shoreline and its beaches, is a popular tourist and vacation destination during the summer. Noted popular metro area beach towns include Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon, and Saugatuck.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, a decrease of one following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on August 7, 2012. The filing deadline for candidates to file to run in the primary was May 15. Except for two seats, all the incumbents sought re-election. The open seats were the 5th and 11th congressional districts. Due to the loss of one seat from the 2010 census, two congressmen ran against each other.
Hillary Jeanne Scholten is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents Grand Rapids and much of the urban core of West Michigan, in a district once represented by former President Gerald Ford.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 8, 2022, to elect representatives for the thirteen seats in Michigan. The deadline for candidates to file for the August 2 primary was April 19. The congressional makeup prior to the election was seven Democrats and seven Republicans. However, after the 2020 census, Michigan lost one congressional seat. Democrats won a majority of seats in the state for the first time since 2008. This can be partly attributed to the decrease in the number of districts, which resulted in two Republican incumbents – Bill Huizenga and Fred Upton – in the new 4th district. Redistricting also played a part in shifting partisan lean of the districts which favored the Democrats overall, including in the 3rd district, which Democrats were able to flip with a margin of victory of 13 points. That was made possible by a non-partisan citizens' commission drawing the new political boundaries instead of the Michigan legislature after a 2018 ballot proposal was approved.
