# Michigan's 5th Senate district

Michigan's 5th Senate district is one of 38 districts in the Michigan Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Dayna Polehanki since 2023, following her primary defeat of fellow Democrat Betty Jean Alexander.

## Geography

District 5 encompasses part of Wayne County.

### 2011 Apportionment Plan

District 5, as dictated by the 2011 Apportionment Plan, was based in central Wayne County, covering parts of western Detroit as well as the surrounding communities of Dearborn Heights, Garden City, Inkster, and Redford.
The district was largely located within Michigan's 13th congressional district, also extending into the 12th and 14th districts. It overlapped with the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 13th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives.

## List of senators

| Senator | Party | Dates | Residence | Notes |
| Charles C. Hascall | Democratic | 1835–1836 | Mount Clemens | Resigned. |
| John Stockton | Democratic | 1835–1836 | Mount Clemens | |
| Ebenezer Raynale | Democratic | 1835–1837 | Franklin | |
| John Clark | Democratic | 1835–1838 | China | |
| Randolph Manning | Democratic | 1837 | Pontiac | |
| Jacob Summers | Democratic | 1837–1838 | Utica | |
| John Bartow | Democratic | 1838 | Flint | |
| Elijah F. Cook | Democratic | 1838 | Farmington | |
| James Kingsley | Democratic | 1839 | Ann Arbor | |
| Olney Hawkins | Whig | 1839–1840 | Ann Arbor | |
| Townsend E. Gidley | Whig | 1839–1841 | Jackson County | |
| James M. Edmunds | Whig | 1840–1841 | Ypsilanti | |
| Edward L. Fuller | Whig | 1841 | Ann Arbor | |
| David E. Deming | Whig | 1842 | Kalamazoo | |
| Digby V. Bell | Democratic | 1842–1843 | Ada | |
| George R. Redfield | Democratic | 1842–1844 | Adamsville | Elected in 1842 to fill a vacancy left by John S. Barry's election as governor. |
| Lewis F. Starkey | Democratic | 1843–1844 | Kalamazoo | |
| William A. Richmond | Democratic | 1844–1845 | Grand Rapids | |
| Joseph S. Chipman | Democratic | 1845–1846 | Niles | |
| Flavius J. Littlejohn | Democratic | 1845–1846 | Allegan | |
| Rix Robinson | Democratic | 1846 | Ada | |
| Loren Maynard | Democratic | 1847 | Marengo | |
| Nathaniel A. Balch | Democratic | 1847–1848 | Kalamazoo | |
| Campbell Waldo | Democratic | 1848–1849 | Albion | |
| David S. Walbridge | Whig | 1849–1850 | Kalamazoo | |
| Charles Dickey | Whig | 1850–1852 | Marshall | |
| George Thomas | Whig | 1851–1852 | Yorkville | |
| The 1850 Michigan Constitution takes effect, changing the district from a multi-member district to a single-member district. ||||||
| David A. Wright | Democratic | 1853–1854 | Oakland County | |
| Rowland E. Trowbridge | Republican | 1857–1860 | Birmingham | |
| Byron G. Stout | Democratic | 1861–1862 | Oakland County | |
| Charles V. Babcock | Democratic | 1863–1864 | Southfield | |
| Loren Ludlow Treat | Democratic | 1865–1866 | Oxford | |
| Charles Draper | Republican | 1867–1868 | Pontiac | |
| P. Dean Warner | Republican | 1869–1870 | Farmington | |
| Layman B. Price | Unknown | 1871–1872 | Lakeville | |
| John J. Sumner | Republican | 1873–1874 | Bedford Township | |
| Heman J. Redfield | Democratic | 1875–1878 | Monroe | |
| Harry A. Conant | Republican | 1879–1880 | Monroe | |
| John Strong Jr. | Democratic | 1881–1884 | South Rockwood | |
| Christian Hertzler | Democratic | 1885–1886 | Monroe County | Elected on a fusion ticket. |
| George Howell | Republican | 1887–1888 | Tecumseh | |
| Arthur Dodge Gilmore | Republican | 1889–1890 | Blissfield | |
| George B. Horton | Republican | 1891 | Lenawee County | Lost seat after election challenge. |
| James H. Morrow | Democratic | 1891–1894 | Adrian | |
| Edwin Eaton | Republican | 1895–1896 | Hudson | |
| William Jibb | Republican | 1897–1898 | Maybee | |
| James W. Helme Jr. | Democratic | 1899–1902 | Adrian | |
| Simeon Van Akin | Republican | 1903–1906 | Ida | |
| Fred B. Kline | Republican | 1907–1908 | Addison | |
| George G. Scott | Republican | 1909–1918 | Wayne County | |
| Fred C. Rowe | Republican | 1919–1920 | Detroit | |
| Oscar A. Riopelle | Republican | 1921–1924 | Detroit | |
| Ari H. Woodruff | Republican | 1925–1926 | Wayne County | |
| George M. Condon | Republican | 1927–1930 | Detroit | |
| Clarence J. Dacey | Republican | 1931–1932 | Detroit | |
| Lee A. Gorman | Democratic | 1933–1936 | Detroit | |
| William M. Bradley | Democratic | 1937–1940 | Detroit | |
| Charles S. Blondy | Democratic | 1941–1954 | Detroit | |
| Stanley J. Novak | Democratic | 1955–1964 | Detroit | |
| Bernard F. O'Brien Jr. | Democratic | 1965–1966 | Detroit | |
| Arthur Cartwright | Democratic | 1967–1978 | Detroit | Resigned. |
| Jackie Vaughn III | Democratic | 1978–1982 | Detroit | |
| Michael J. O'Brien Jr. | Democratic | 1983–1998 | Detroit | |
| Burton Leland | Democratic | 1999–2006 | Detroit | |
| Tupac A. Hunter | Democratic | 2007–2014 | Detroit | |
| David Knezek | Democratic | 2015–2018 | Dearborn Heights | |
| Betty Jean Alexander | Democratic | 2019–2022 | Detroit | |
| Dayna Polehanki | Democratic | 2023–present | Livonia | |

## Recent election results
### 2018

2018 Michigan Senate election, District 5 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Betty Jean Alexander | 18,928 | 54.5 |
| | Democratic | David Knezek (incumbent) | 15,803 | 45.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 34,731 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Betty Jean Alexander | 70,010 | 77.4 |
| | Republican | DeShawn Wilkins | 16,479 | 18.2 |
| | Working Class | Larry Betts | 3,944 | 4.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 90,433 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2014

2014 Michigan Senate election, District 5 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | David Knezek | 8,470 | 32.2 |
| | Democratic | Shanelle Jackson | 6,317 | 24.0 |
| | Democratic | David Nathan | 5,526 | 21.0 |
| | Democratic | Thomas Stallworth III | 4,301 | 16.3 |
| | Democratic | Carrie O'Connor | 1,189 | 4.5 |
| | Democratic | Frank Tomcsik | 507 | 1.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 26,310 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | David Knezek | 59,680 | 81.8 |
| | Republican | Jennifer Rynicki | 13,286 | 18.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 72,966 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### Federal and statewide results

| Year | Office | Results |
| 2020 | President | Biden 77.4 – 21.3% |
| 2018 | Senate | Stabenow 78.7 – 19.3% |
| 2018 | Governor | Whitmer 79.7 – 17.9% |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 76.1 – 20.7% |
| 2014 | Senate | Peters 81.1 – 15.9% |
| 2014 | Governor | Schauer 75.3 – 23.2% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 81.1 – 18.3% |
| 2012 | Senate | Stabenow 83.2 – 14.1% |

## Historical district boundaries

| Description | Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Detroit (part) Ecorse River Rouge | 1964 Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Detroit (part) | 1972 Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Detroit (part) | 1982 Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Detroit (part) | 1992 Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Dearborn Heights Detroit (part) Inkster | 2001 Apportionment Plan |
| Wayne County (part) Dearborn Heights Detroit (part) Garden City Inkster Redford Township | 2011 Apportionment Plan |