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Christine Morse

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Christine Morse
Image of Christine Morse
Prior offices
Michigan House of Representatives District 61
Successor: Denise Mentzer
Predecessor: Brandt Iden

Michigan House of Representatives District 40
Successor: Matt Longjohn
Predecessor: Mari Manoogian

Education

Bachelor's

Michigan State University

Law

Wayne State University

Personal
Birthplace
Tecumseh, Mich.
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Christine Morse (Democratic Party) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 40. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. She left office on January 1, 2025.

Morse (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 40. She did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 6, 2024.


Biography

Christine Morse was born in Tecumseh, Michigan. Morse earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Michigan State University and a law degree from Wayne State University. Her career experience includes working as an attorney.[1][2] Morse has served on the Kalamazoo Land Bank Board, the Southcentral Michigan Planning Council, the Texas Township Flooding Task Force, the South Drake Road Corridor Improvement Authority, and Portage Central Performing Arts.[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Morse was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Morse was assigned to the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024

Christine Morse did not file to run for re-election.

2022

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 40

Incumbent Christine Morse defeated Kelly Sackett in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 40 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christine Morse
Christine Morse (D) Candidate Connection
 
58.6
 
25,989
Image of Kelly Sackett
Kelly Sackett (R) Candidate Connection
 
41.4
 
18,338

Total votes: 44,327
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 40

Incumbent Christine Morse advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 40 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christine Morse
Christine Morse Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
9,767

Total votes: 9,767
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 40

Kelly Sackett advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 40 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kelly Sackett
Kelly Sackett Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
8,177

Total votes: 8,177
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 61

Christine Morse defeated Bronwyn Haltom in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 61 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christine Morse
Christine Morse (D) Candidate Connection
 
54.1
 
31,888
Image of Bronwyn Haltom
Bronwyn Haltom (R) Candidate Connection
 
45.9
 
27,088

Total votes: 58,976
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 61

Christine Morse advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 61 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christine Morse
Christine Morse Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
13,380

Total votes: 13,380
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 61

Bronwyn Haltom defeated Tom Graham in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 61 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Bronwyn Haltom
Bronwyn Haltom Candidate Connection
 
65.5
 
6,634
Image of Tom Graham
Tom Graham Candidate Connection
 
34.5
 
3,501

Total votes: 10,135
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Morse's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Christine Morse did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Candidate Connection

Christine Morse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Morse's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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I was raised in Tecumseh, Michigan, the daughter of a Ford auto worker and a small business bookkeeper. Upon graduation from Tecumseh High school, I attended Michigan State University to study Political Science/Pre-law where I also met my husband, Kevin. I receiving my Bachelor of Arts in 1998. I next attended Wayne State University Law School and was awarded a Juris Doctor in 1998. I passed the Michigan Bar Exam in 1998 and the California Bar in 1999. From 1999-2010 Kevin was on active duty with the U.S. Navy. During our time with the military, we moved from San Diego to Maryland to Okinawa, Japan, to North Shore Chicago, finally settling in Kalamazoo in 2010. We have three children, Canyon, Emory and Georgia, and a cat named Steve. In 2011, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and after a successful year of treatment, have been grateful to remain cancer free. In 2018, I first ran for public office inspired by wanting to impact my local government to ensure a better future for my children. I was elected to the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners in November 2018 and served from 2019-2020. As County Commissioner, I was the liaison to the Kalamazoo Land Bank and a member of the Southcentral Michigan Planning Council. In 2020 I was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives for House District 61 where I serve on the Energy and Health Policy Committees. I am also a member of the Labor, Gun Violence Prevention and Progressive Women's Caucuses.
  • When I first ran for State House, my inspiration was my children, and the desire to ensure every child received a quality public education. Michigan used to be a leader in education in the country, but since Prop A in 1994, funding for schools has been flat or declined. The lack of investment in education led to the results found in a 2018 Michigan State University study on education, Michigan was 50th in revenue growth and 50th in reading growth. We must continue to provide equitable and appropriate school funding for 2023 and beyond, even when we do not have record state revenue.
  • We are more than two years into a global pandemic which only served to reveal our extreme lack of resources for mental health in our state. For the better part of 3 decades, the public mental health system in Michigan was dismantled, leaving people with few options in a crisis. Today we often hear reports of people sitting in ERs awaiting a bed or worse, and we simply do not currently have the resources to serve everyone who needs care. I will continue to work with my colleagues to provide adequate funding and creative ideas for filling the provider positions and providing more mental health beds for crisis situations. I also will continue to support the provision of mental health supports in schools.
  • Our clean fresh water is our state's most valuable resource, one that will find greater demand as water shortages grow across our country. I was proud to vote for $1.5 billion in infrastructure funding to start addressing our myriad issues from multiple decades of failure to invest in infrastructure. This is a large investment, but it must be part of a larger picture of preparing our infrastructure for future climate issues and demands on our water resources. I would like the state to work with local governments to ensure they have what they need to bring our infrastructure up to date for the 21st Century. I also believe that investments in infrastructure signals the business community that the state is ready for business investment.
I am passionate about women's ability to maintain bodily autonomy and make their own healthcare decisions. This basic human right is at grave risk and I will do what I can to ensure it is not taken away. I am passionate about keeping our children safe at school. There are many common sense areas of gun legislation that even gun owners agree upon such as universal background checks and extreme protection orders. Additional measures such as negligent storage and requiring liability insurance for gun owners do not impact someone's Second Amendment rights. No matter what, we should consider children's lives more important than easy access to weapons of war. I am passionate about supporting our working families through strong labor unions. Our state has all but lost its middle class, which has coincided with the state's restriction of union activity. I support our unions because they bring balance to our capitalist system by ensuring living wages, better benefits and safer work environments. Finally, I would like to provide supports to our small businesses who have suffered greatly during the global pandemic. I was proud to vote for the SOAR Fund, which provides funding for major investments in our state such as those recently announced by General Motors, Ford and LG. We must also provide opportunities for our small businesses to take advantage of, our local economies depend upon their success.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an amazing woman who broke many barriers and remained true to herself through it all. She was a mother, lawyer, spouse, teacher, and Supreme Court justice who made the advancement of women a top priority. I would like to continue fighting for my values and using my knowledge of law to make a difference in the areas I am seeking to change.
I worked two summers at an ice cream shop called Frosty Boy of Tecumseh.
All the Light We Cannot See. Historical WWII fiction set in France, two of my favorite subjects.
The ideal relationship between Governor and State Legislature is as partners in the governing of the state, working together to solve problems and improve the quality of life of Michiganders.
Improving our public education system so that we are attractive to continued business investment by providing a workforce that can be highly trained and educated.
Of course it is beneficial. Building relationships helps the system operate more efficiently.
I supported the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission as a voter. I continue to support the results of the Commission despite it being an imperfect process. The Legislature should not be drawing districts as there is too much room for self-dealing.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Candidate Conversations

Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A. Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

Candidate Connection

Christine Morse completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Morse's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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I am a native Michigander, former attorney, mother of three, cancer survivor and Kalamazoo County Commissioner. I grew up in Tecumseh and attended Tecumseh Public Schools. My Dad worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years and my Mom was a bookkeeper for small businesses. I graduated from both Michigan State and Wayne State University Law School. After my husband's 11 years of Navy service, we chose to settle our family in Kalamazoo where he joined an oral surgery group practice. Less than one year after arriving in Kalamazoo, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That experience inspired me to give back to my community and I did so with my work on the Pink Owl Project, which worked to raise breast cancer awareness in young women. I was further inspired to run for Kalamazoo County Commissioner with the intent of providing accessible and responsive leadership for the residents of District 9. My time on the County Commission has provided a tremendous learning experience and I am proud to have supported the work of the Texas Township Flooding Task Force to provide a long term solution for our flooding issues.
  • Every Michigan student deserves access to quality, public education and our public school employees deserve to be respected.
  • Every Michigander deserves access to quality, affordable health care, including guaranteeing access to care for people with pre-existing conditions.
  • Every Michigander deserves access to safe drinking water - we must be honorable stewards of the Great Lakes.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
I support the Michigan Reconnect and Going Pro programs. I also believe we need to reinvest in our public education system overall from Kindergarten through career and technical education to higher education. We cannot expect employers to locate here if we cannot provide a talent pipeline. Funding public education is not just a moral imperative, but an economic one.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
If we do not get enough funding from the federal government to support our state and local governments I would prioritize healthcare (expanding Healthy Michigan and Medicare), public education, and infrastructure. I think it is imperative that we guarantee healthcare access for all Michiganders and that we do not leave our students and educators behind as our state goes back to work. Additionally, prioritizing an infrastructure overhaul gives us a tool to implement a New Deal-like program and boost employment. I would look to streamline service provision by the state to reduce overhead costs, collaborate with colleagues to ensure corporations are paying their fair share, and continue to host town halls and other public events to seek input from Kalamazoo residents on what our community needs most.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
As a former attorney, this is something that I have a deep appreciation for. I would welcome the opportunity to require tax reporting and full campaign finance reporting for all state elected officials, expanding FOIA to include all state elected officials, and more.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
In the recovery from Covid19, we are going to face many budgetary challenges. I believe we need both a federal and state recovery plan that is a 21st Century New Deal. We need to put people back to work fixing our broken infrastructure, providing support services for our public school students, rebuilding our small businesses, and modernizing our energy grid. I believe we must pair that with an investment in career and technical education and higher education to make sure we are building a pool of talent to be the engine of our local economies.
Detroit Free Press   Featured local question
I believe we need to involve educators in re-writing our education standards. We are still spending too much time teaching to tests and with Michigan ranked at the bottom for reading growth, we know we need to be doing something differently. The third grade reading law is intended to remedy this issue, but includes a retention aspect that will ultimately hurt our students. What we as a state need to provide is more help for teachers in overcrowded and underfunded classrooms, and a way to improve our reading success without a punitive response. I would rely on experts in education to determine the appropriate standards and look to other states that are seeing success in their students.
As a public school graduate and parent of three public school students, I know that public education is the key to opportunity here in Michigan. But for too long we have decimated public school funding, leaving our educators and students behind. I believe we must reinvest in our public education system, and involve educators in recreating standards that actually serve our students well.
My unique life experiences have led me to be a person who looks for the opportunity that life's challenges provide to make a difference in my community. From serving as President of the Naval Officers Spouses' Club of Okinawa and helping to run its 501(C)(3) organization, to organizing and co-leading the Pink Owl Project, a breast cancer photography and essay exhibit, to running for County Commissioner for District 9, I have continued to find ways to contribute to my community in a positive way. I also believe that being a parent would make me a better State Representative. I always have the best interest of our younger generation in mind and I commit to working to build a Michigan where all residents have access to opportunity and can build a better life here.
I would like my legacy to be that I rose to the challenge and made positive change for myself and my community in the face of many obstacles. From moving frequently when my husband was active duty with the U.S. Navy, to the burden of student loans, a breast cancer diagnosis, or the difficulties of running for office, I have turned challenges into opportunities.
While I did a lot of babysitting in my early teens, my first official job was Frosty Boy of Tecumseh where I worked for two summers.
I love to read so it is so hard to choose, but All the Light We Cannot See was one that I could not stop thinking about after I read it. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. This book is set during World War II and involves multiple settings around Europe and multiple characters whose lives ultimately intersect in explosive ways. It is a thrilling read!
One of the biggest struggles is not living closer to my family as an adult. As a young mother with children, it was hard not to live near our parents for their support. As a person with aging parents, it can be hard to provide support for them from a distance. This has been especially difficult during our current health crisis.
In Michigan, like our federal Congress, the State House is meant to allow residents a clearer voice in policy-making and be held more accountable. State Representatives are meant to handle more of the day to day constituency work. I am working to bring more transparent, responsive leadership to Lansing - something that has been sorely lacking for years.
Absolutely. Especially in a state with strict term limits, it is critical that legislators have previous local government experience and I look forward to bringing my experience on the Kalamazoo county Commission with me to Lansing.
Our greatest challenge will be providing quality health care, education, and rebuilding our infrastructure as we work to revitalize our economy in the COVID19 recession. It will also be difficult to prioritize environmental protections as we look to recover our communities from COVID19, but we must stay vigilant and ensure that we are holding polluters accountable and building toward a green future. We will need to be creative and solution-oriented to put our public dollars where they are needed most, and make sure corporations are paying their fair share too.
Absolutely. As a County Commissioner it has been important for me to build relationships with my colleagues in order to move forward work like our project on the Texas Township Flooding Taskforce and creating an Equity Task Force.
I am interested in Appropriations. In the recovery from COVID19, we are going to need legislators with budgetary experience to lead on budgetary issues, and I hope I can bring my County Commission experience to that process.
I admire the work of Senator Debbie Stabenow. She has worked tirelessly for the people of the State of Michigan for many years in many different capacities.
As the County Commissioner of District 9, I had the opportunity to attend Cradle Kalamazoo's annual meeting this year. Cradle Kalamazoo is an organization that was created to address Kalamazoo County's poor infant mortality rate for infants of color. One attendee shared her experience with a medical professional who did not listen to her concerns and it really struck me again how unfair our systems can be and how much work we have to do in healthcare to improve the healthcare people receive.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Christine Morse campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Michigan House of Representatives District 40Won general$160,908 $0
2020Michigan House of Representatives District 61Won general$898,293 N/A**
Grand total$1,059,201 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Michigan

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

In 2024, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 10 to December 23.

Legislators are scored on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2023


2022


2021








See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bio
  2. Michigan House Democrats, "Meet Rep. Morse," accessed January 20, 2021

Political offices
Preceded by
Mari Manoogian (D)
Michigan House of Representatives District 40
2023-2025
Succeeded by
Matt Longjohn (D)
Preceded by
Brandt Iden (R)
Michigan House of Representatives District 61
2021-2023
Succeeded by
Denise Mentzer (D)


Current members of the Michigan House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Matt Hall
Minority Leader:Ranjeev Puri
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Mai Xiong (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
Matt Hall (R)
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
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District 74
Kara Hope (D)
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
Tim Kelly (R)
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
Tom Kunse (R)
District 101
District 102
District 103
District 104
John Roth (R)
District 105
District 106
District 107
District 108
District 109
District 110
Republican Party (58)
Democratic Party (52)