MICHIGAN—Every seat in the Michigan House of Representatives is on the ballot this November. The ‘Gander is profiling the races that could decide who controls Lansing.
Here’s what voters need to know ahead of Election Day in the 54th House District:
The race
Republican state Rep. Donni Steele is leaving the state House after two terms to run for state Senate. That leaves the 54th District without an incumbent candidate on the ballot this year.
Democrat Sarah Pounds, a paralegal from Lake Orion, ran unopposed in the primary election. Republican Roman Gaskey, a recent college graduate from Orion Township, narrowly beat ex-Oxford Township Trustee Jeffrey Omtvedt. They’ll face off in the general election on Nov. 3.
The district
Michigan’s 54th House District includes Bloomfield Hills, Orion Township, a portion of Auburn Hills, and portions of Bloomfield and Oakland townships. It’s home to roughly 94,000 people.
Steele never had an easy time holding this seat. In 2022, she beat Democrat Shadia Martini 51% to 49% by a margin of only about 1,000 votes. In their 2024 rematch, she won 52% to 48%. The district is widely considered a 50-50 split between Republicans and Democrats.
Martini is now running for state Senate. And the August primary election sent its own signal.
Running unopposed, Pounds pulled in more than 12,000 votes—nearly 3,000 more votes than Gaskey and Omtvedt got combined. And now both parties are treating this race as a must-win.
It’s worth noting that some of the biggest names in national Democratic politics have campaigned here in recent months. Former US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg helped launch a canvassing event for Pounds in West Bloomfield on Aug. 7. Two days later, California Gov. Gavin Newsom headlined a campaign event for Pounds at UAW Local 5960 in Lake Orion.
Democrats with presidential ambitions don’t typically parachute into state House races. Doing it twice here in one week says a lot about how badly Democrats want to flip this seat.
Roman Gaskey (R)
Gaskey, 23, reportedly graduated as valedictorian of Lake Orion High School before earning a math and data science degree from the University of Michigan. He works as a strategy and product analyst at Altumatim, an artificial intelligence startup. This is his first run for public office.
His “Blueprint for Michigan” centers on affordability, innovation, and education. It includes proposals to stop private equity firms from buying up neighborhoods, lower healthcare costs, expand reading instruction, and create a new legislative select committee on AI.
On data centers, Gaskey doesn’t oppose them outright. Instead, he opposes state incentives to lure them to Michigan, wants them to generate their own energy, and would require them to use “closed-loop cooling systems” to curb water use, plus measures to prevent excessive noise.
And a deeper dive into Gaskey’s policy positions raises real questions for voters who care about reproductive rights, clean energy, LGBTQ+ equality, and the integrity of Michigan elections.
On abortion, Gaskey has said nothing at all. He declined to answer every abortion question in a recent questionnaire and his website doesn’t mention the topic. Still, he’s endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan—an anti-abortion group that only endorses anti-abortion candidates.
On the environment, Gaskey has acknowledged that humans are causing climate change but calls carbon neutrality mandates “foolish” and “economic suicide.” His energy plan also calls for repealing state-level mandates that require utility companies to transition to cleaner energy.
Gaskey has also argued against transgender women and girls competing in women’s sports or using women’s facilities, even though state law has protected gender identity since 2023.
On the campaign trail, Gaskey has blamed Democrats for a “crisis of public trust” in elections, wants sanctuary cities made illegal, opposes minimum wage increases, and wants to make significant cuts to property taxes—a key source of funding for Michigan’s public schools.
Gaskey casts himself as a grassroots outsider running against candidates “backed by career politicians.” But his endorsers include former Gov. Rick Snyder, four sitting Republican state lawmakers, a slate of local officeholders, and three of Lansing’s most active business lobbies: the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, and the NFIB.
Ahead of Election Day, his campaign is running low on cash. Gaskey reported just $3,000 on hand in his September campaign finance disclosures, compared with $103,000 for Pounds.
Sarah Pounds (D)
Pounds is a lifelong Oakland County resident, a Lake Orion mom of four daughters in public schools, and a paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in construction litigation.
Most of her public work has been in housing. She has served on two Oakland County housing boards, both appointed by the Board of Commissioners, and chairs a local housing nonprofit. Her campaign says that work has helped support more than 1,100 mixed-income homes and turned $30 million in public investment into more than $300 million in total development.
Pounds hasn’t held elected office. She ran for the Oakland County Board of Commissioners in 2022 and lost to Republican Michael Gingell, who has since endorsed her opponent.
Her campaign centers on affordability, public schools, housing, and good-paying jobs.
Pounds has already drafted a bill to allow housing on land owned by churches, universities, and nonprofits. She also backs prevailing wage and collective bargaining, full funding for public schools, and expanded childcare access. And she has pledged to hold data centers accountable for their own infrastructure so families aren’t stuck with higher electric rates.
On reproductive rights, Pounds has been unambiguous: “I’m a mom of four daughters, and I want them to grow up with the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies, their health, and their future,” she said this month in an exclusive interview with The ‘Gander.
Pounds has also made protecting the Great Lakes a priority and is endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club. Her other endorsements include EMILY’s List, Moms Demand Action, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, US Sen. Elissa Slotkin, several state lawmakers, and more than a dozen labor unions—including the UAW, the MEA, and the Michigan AFL-CIO.
What’s at stake?
Control of the Michigan House of Representatives hangs on a handful of seats like this one.
Republicans hold a narrow majority there and Democrats need to flip some battleground districts if they want to regain the gavel in 2027. The 54th District is exactly the kind of race that will determine which party runs Lansing—and what gets done there—for the next two years.
READ MORE: 11 Michigan races that could decide who runs Lansing
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