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Shadia Martini

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Shadia Martini
Image of Shadia Martini

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Aleppo, 1987

Graduate

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1996

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

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Shadia Martini (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 54. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Shadia Martini was born in Aleppo, Syria. She earned a bachelor's degree from Aleppo University in 1987. She earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1996. Martini's career experience includes working as a real estate broker, builder, as an entrepreneur, as a teacher with Aleppo University, and as a reporter with Syria TV Channel 2. She has been affiliated with the Syrian American Council, the Karam Foundation, the National Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Home Builders.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent Donni Steele defeated Shadia Martini in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Donni Steele
Donni Steele (R)
 
52.4
 
28,884
Image of Shadia Martini
Shadia Martini (D)
 
47.6
 
26,223

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 55,107
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Shadia Martini advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Shadia Martini
Shadia Martini
 
100.0
 
7,849

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,849
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 54

Incumbent Donni Steele advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Donni Steele
Donni Steele
 
100.0
 
7,504

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,504
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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Martini received the following endorsements.

  • Michigan League of Conservation Voters

2022

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Donni Steele defeated Shadia Martini in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Donni Steele
Donni Steele (R)
 
51.2
 
22,960
Image of Shadia Martini
Shadia Martini (D)
 
48.8
 
21,912

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 44,872
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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Shadia Martini defeated Stephanie Fakih and Gary Gerson in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Shadia Martini
Shadia Martini
 
39.3
 
3,786
Image of Stephanie Fakih
Stephanie Fakih Candidate Connection
 
35.3
 
3,402
Image of Gary Gerson
Gary Gerson Candidate Connection
 
25.4
 
2,451

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 9,639
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 54

Donni Steele defeated Sandy Kiesel in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Donni Steele
Donni Steele
 
57.6
 
5,992
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Sandy Kiesel
 
42.4
 
4,415

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,407
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign finance

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Incumbent Kyra Harris Bolden defeated Daniela Davis and Tim Yow in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kyra Harris Bolden
Kyra Harris Bolden (D) Candidate Connection
 
82.9
 
49,096
Image of Daniela Davis
Daniela Davis (R)
 
15.9
 
9,412
Image of Tim Yow
Tim Yow (L)
 
1.2
 
693

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 59,201
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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Incumbent Kyra Harris Bolden defeated Shadia Martini in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kyra Harris Bolden
Kyra Harris Bolden Candidate Connection
 
90.2
 
23,737
Image of Shadia Martini
Shadia Martini Candidate Connection
 
9.8
 
2,577

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 26,314
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 35

Daniela Davis advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Daniela Davis
Daniela Davis
 
100.0
 
2,946

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,946
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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Tim Yow advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on July 18, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Tim Yow
Tim Yow (L)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

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


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shadia Martini did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Shadia Martini did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Shadia Martini was born and raised under brutal dictatorship in the Middle East. She came to the US in 1992. She has a B. Sc. in architectural engineering and and MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

She has been a resident of Franklin since 1992. She is a real estate broker, a builder, and a small business owner. If elected, she would be the first Syrian-American woman representative in Michigan's House. Shadia is an anti-authoritarian activist and has worked with refugees for 5 years.

  • I am not a career politician. I am running because I believe that I can make a difference.
  • I have rich and diversified experiences that can bring a different perspective to Michigan's House of representatives.
  • I bring my work ethics and ability to work with others, to the table.
1- I am passionate about relieving our residents from the excessive property tax burden. This is an issue that affects every single one of us, whether a home owner or a renter. It is a thorny issue that no one wants to touch.

2- I am passionate about creating more equitable public education system.
3- I am passionate about treating clean water as a basic human right.

3- I am passionate about refugee rights. These people are thoroughly vetted before being admitted to our country. They need the proper support. They also need to be protected from deportation.
I always looked up to my mother. She was a pioneer in her own right. My mother was born in 1932 in a small town in northern Syria called Idlib. She was sent by her parents to boarding school in the big city nearby in 6th grade, when she was only 10 years old. There was no middle school for girls in her town at the time. She went on to become the first dentist in her town and later the first oral surgeon in all of northern Syrian.
My mother taught me morals, work ethics, and critical thinking.
I believe that the core responsibility of a state representative is to work on improving your constituents' lives - fiscally and socially.
As the first Syrian-American woman in Michigan's state house, I would like my legacy to be a substantial paradigm shift in how our state handles refugees fleeing into our borders.
In 1978 Egypt's president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin singed a "Framework for Peace" after meeting with Jimmy Carter at Camp David. This would have never happened, without the pressure from the US administration. This historical event carried the hopes of scaling down violence and wars in the Middle East. I was 13 years old at the time.
I was a teacher's assistant at Aleppo University school of architectural engineering. I was overseeing students in architectural design and urban planning. I was there for 4 years.
The American Plague by Molly Caldwell Crosby. It is a fascinating book about the suffering in the US from Yellow fever and how a group of doctors managed to find what caused it at great personal loss.
At this point in time when we are dealing with COVID-19, a book like The American Plague gives you a historical perspective of dealing with pandemics.
Michigan voted for term limits in 1992. Members of the house are limited to 3 terms, while members of the senate are limited to 2.
I do not believe so. Career politicians become focused on keeping their seats. Bringing fresh perspectives into public office can make a significant difference in performance and outcomes.
Our state's greatest challenges over the next decade are:

1- Infrastructure.
2- Education.

3- Funding.
The ideal relationship would be that of cooperation and compromise.
It is very important and beneficial to build relationships with other legislators. We all share similar and sometimes identical challenges. Exchanging ideas and experiences, can save a lot of money and hassle. There is no need to keep reinventing the wheel.
I firmly believe that redistricting should not be politically motivated.

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.

Shadia Martini campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Michigan House of Representatives District 54Lost general$1,589,754 $0
2022Michigan House of Representatives District 54Lost general$480,559 $0
2020Michigan House of Representatives District 35Lost primary$32,934 N/A**
Grand total$2,103,246 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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External links

Candidate

Michigan House of Representatives District 54
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 11, 2020


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