Michigan Legislature · Incoming leadership for 2027
Michigan’s next
legislative leaders
Roger Hauck and Tom Kunse will lead Republicans in the Senate and House. The selections, the teams and the transition to the next Legislature.
Michigan’s Republican legislative caucuses have chosen their next leaders: Roger Hauck in the Senate and Tom Kunse in the House. Both selections are now confirmed by official caucus announcements.
The choices follow an election that returned the House to Democratic control and kept the Senate in Democratic hands. The Republican leaders will organize their caucuses for the next term, while Democrats prepare to set the legislative agenda. Michigan Advance’s election report describes that change in control; district returns remain unofficial until certified.
Senate Democrats have confirmed Darrin Quiroz Camilleri as their next majority leader. House Democrats have selected Ranjeev Puri as their nominee for speaker for the 2027–2028 term. The full House will separately elect its speaker when the new Legislature organizes. These are incoming leadership decisions: they do not immediately replace the officers serving in the current Legislature.
Michigan Senate · Republicans
Roger Hauck will lead Senate Republicans
Incoming leadership · 2027–2030
Senate Republicans announced a unanimous vote for Hauck to lead the caucus for 2027–2030. Their November 5 release names an eight-member leadership team, mixing returning senators with members the caucus identifies as senators-elect. Read the official Senate Republican announcement.
Hauck’s path was visible well before the general election. In January, MIRS identified Hauck and Michael Webber as leading possibilities, with Jonathan Lindsey also discussed. The early contest centered on the returning senators who could help organize the next caucus.
By August, Michigan Public Radio Network reporter Colin Jackson described Hauck as poised to take the job. In that interview, Hauck emphasized listening to his colleagues and reaching a position the caucus could support. The November announcement turns that expectation into a formal selection.
See the incoming Senate Republican leadership team
| Member | Incoming role |
|---|---|
| Roger Hauck | Republican Leader |
| Thomas Albert | Republican Floor Leader |
| John Wetzel | Republican Whip |
| Gina Johnsen | Republican Caucus Chair |
| Michele Hoitenga | Assistant Republican Leader |
| Mike Murphy | Assistant Republican Floor Leader |
| Donni Steele | Assistant Republican Whip |
| Jonathan Lindsey | Assistant Republican Caucus Chair |
2027–2030 team announced November 5. “Senator-elect” is the caucus’s designation, not a certification statement.
Michigan House · Republicans
Tom Kunse will lead House Republicans
Incoming leadership · 2027–2028
House Republicans have selected Kunse to lead their caucus for 2027–2028. The official November 5 announcement names the nine-member team that will help the Clare Republican organize the caucus. WILX also reported the selection Thursday.
The result also supplies a new chapter in Kunse’s leadership ambitions. In November 2024, he challenged Matt Hall for the Republican caucus’s top job and lost, according to Gongwer’s account of that selection. The 2026 announcement does not identify an opponent or give a ballot tally.
In the announcement, Kunse said he would organize Republicans around affordability, economic growth and government accountability. He also described working in good faith with other lawmakers while seeking to rebuild a House majority.
See the incoming House Republican leadership team
| Member | Incoming role |
|---|---|
| Tom Kunse | Republican Leader |
| Rachelle Smit | Assistant Republican Leader |
| Mike Harris | Republican Floor Leader |
| Parker Fairbairn | Assistant Republican Floor Leader |
| Josh Schriver | Assistant Republican Floor Leader |
| Bill Schuette | Republican Whip |
| Jennifer Wortz | Deputy Republican Whip |
| Ken Borton | Republican Caucus Chair |
| Alicia St. Germaine | Republican Caucus Vice Chair |
2027–2028 team announced November 5 by Michigan House Republicans.
The Democratic counterparts
Democrats select Camilleri for Senate leader and Puri for House speaker
Darrin Quiroz Camilleri
Incoming Senate majority leader
Confirmed by caucus
Senate Democrats announced Camilleri’s election November 5. Kevin Hertel’s office confirmed his selection as incoming majority floor leader.
Portrait: Michigan Senate Democrats
Ranjeev Puri
Democratic nominee for House speaker
Caucus-confirmed
House Democrats selected Puri as their choice for speaker for 2027–2028, according to their November 5 announcement. The full House will separately elect its speaker when the new Legislature organizes.
Portrait: Michigan House Democrats
See the announced House Democratic leadership team
| Member | Incoming role |
|---|---|
| Ranjeev Puri | Democratic nominee for House speaker |
| Laurie Pohutsky | Democratic nominee for speaker pro tempore |
| John Fitzgerald | Incoming majority floor leader |
| Jennifer Conlin | Incoming majority whip |
| Stephanie Young | Incoming caucus chair |
The speaker and speaker pro tempore entries are caucus nominations; the full House elects those chamber officers.
The path to November 5
The Senate leadership races developed months before November
The public record traces an emerging field, consolidated support and formal caucus decisions.
Earlier endorsements and expectations are shown in their original context.
Hauck and Webber emerge in the Republican field
MIRS reports interest and support for both men. Lindsey is discussed as another possibility.
Returning Senate Democrats line up behind Camilleri
MIRS reports that every Democratic senator eligible to return supports Camilleri. Colleagues are listed as co-hosts of a June 4 leadership lunch; the formal caucus election is still ahead.
Hauck becomes the expected next Republican leader
MPRN’s interview focuses on his approach to leading the caucus and the coming general election.
Senate caucuses announce their incoming leaders
Republicans confirm Hauck; Democrats confirm Camilleri. The selections follow the election rather than replacing the current officers immediately.
The governing context
Majority control changes the leaders’ room to act
The leadership contests and the election for chamber control answer different questions. A caucus chooses who will organize and speak for its members. The chamber’s majority determines which party is positioned to move an agenda through the legislative process.
Before the election, Hauck told Bridge Michigan that he wanted more attention to state-agency accountability and chronic absenteeism in schools. Camilleri discussed prescription-drug affordability and pricing proposals; Puri emphasized affordability while saying he wanted input from the incoming Democratic caucus before prescribing its agenda.
Those interviews establish stated priorities, not an adopted 2027 program. With Republicans entering the next Legislature in the minority, their leaders will have to decide where to oppose Democratic proposals, where to negotiate and which issues can unite their own members. That is the governing question behind the personnel changes.
Explore the Michigan House results Explore the Michigan Senate resultsFrom selection to service
Caucus selections precede the new Legislature’s organization
The announcement of an incoming leader is one step in a transition. It should not be read as an immediate change in the current officeholder.
Party caucuses select their leaders
The Senate’s current Rule 1.104(b) provides for caucus election of party leaders. Read the Senate rules.
The new legislative terms begin
The Michigan Constitution places the start of legislative terms at noon on January 1, 2027. The regular session begins at noon on the second Wednesday in January—January 13 in 2027. Article XI, Section 2; Article IV, Section 13.
The House elects its speaker
A caucus nomination and the full House’s speaker election are separate actions. The January 8, 2025 House Journal records how the chamber elected its speaker at the start of the previous biennium.
The next reporting checkpoints are the remaining caucus announcements, committee assignments and the House’s organizational proceedings. The Michigan Legislature leadership reference will distinguish incoming selections from the officers currently serving.
The reporting record
Sources and reporting notes
This report combines official caucus announcements with attributed reporting on the earlier leadership contests. It does not report an independently observed caucus ballot or infer a vote tally where none was published.
- Michigan Senate Republicans: Hauck and the incoming team
- Michigan House Republicans: Kunse and the incoming team
- Michigan Senate Democrats: Camilleri announcement
- Michigan House Democrats: Puri and the announced leadership team
- Kevin Hertel: incoming majority floor leader announcement
- Michigan Advance: Senate selections
- WILX: November 5 leadership reporting
Sources checked through 8:15 p.m. EST November 5, 2026. Official caucus statements confirm all four principal caucus selections, both announced Republican teams and five House Democratic leaders. Remaining Senate Democratic officers and further House Democratic teams will be added when verified. Portraits: Michigan Senate Republicans, Michigan House Republicans, Michigan Senate Democrats and Michigan House Democrats. Capitol imagery: Stephen Schumacher / Michigan Republican Primary. All photographs are file imagery unless otherwise identified.
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