U.S. House, Michigan - 9th District
Suburban Detroit -- eastern Oakland County
Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
2008: Rep.
2006: Rep.
Knollenberg maintains a 4-to-1 fundraising advantage over former state Sen. Gary Peters in cash on hand, but Peters has out-raised the congressman in the past quarter. Peters’ chances are boosted by Obama’s strong showing in the state and major investment by the national Democratic party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has committed $1 million for advertising in the district through Election Day while its Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, cancelled nearly $320,000 in ads for the district in mid-October, retaining the right to resume advertising later. Knollenberg’s record-low performance in the 2006 election cycle marks him vulnerable despite his eight terms in Congress and recent polling indicates the race is close.
Race Information
- Incumbent: Gary Peters, D
- First Elected: 2008 (1st term)
- Last Elected: (%)
- Incumbent Status: Running for re-election
- Race Forecast: Leans Democratic
District Information
Politics in America District Profile
Michigan’s heavily suburban 9th — the wealthiest and most-educated district in the state — is wholly contained within Oakland County, one of the most affluent counties in the nation and home to the U.S. headquarters for DaimlerChrysler in Auburn Hills. The district includes more than half of Oakland County’s residents.
Troy, in the district’s southeastern corner, is a major office center and is home to Michigan’s growing high-technology automotive research and design industry. But the city did receive some bad news in 2005 when Kmart, which merged with Sears to form Sears Holdings, relocated its headquarters from Troy to Chicago. Troy has a large Asian population, and the 9th has more Asians than any other district in the state. North of Troy, Oakland University in Rochester continues to grow.
Communities such as Farmington Hills, north of the northern Detroit boundary cut by 8 Mile Road, form a corridor between Grand River Avenue and the Northwestern Highway that has served as one of the major routes for white exodus out of Detroit.
Upper-middle-class Troy, Bloomfield Township and Rochester Hills give the district a Republican lean, but Democrats fare well in Pontiac, where blacks have a plurality and John Kerry won 79 percent of the 2004 presidential vote. Kerry also won Farmington Hills, the most-populous city in the 9th, and West Bloomfield Township by comfortable margins.
Republican presidential candidates do not garner the vote percentages in Oakland that they once did. George W. Bush received 49 percent of Oakland’s 2004 vote, which was barely higher than his 48 percent showing statewide. Bush won the 9th with 50 percent of the overall vote.
Major Industry
Auto manufacturing, engineering, health care, insurance
Cities
Farmington Hills, 82,111; Troy, 80,959; Rochester Hills, 68,825; Pontiac, 66,337; Waterford (unincorporated) (pt.), 66,316; West Bloomfield Township (unincorporated), 64,862; Royal Oak (pt.), 54,536
Notable
The first Holocaust museum built in the United States was in West Bloomfield; The Rev. Charles Coughlin broadcast his controversial weekly radio programs from the Shrine of the Little Flower church in Royal Oak in the 1930s.
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population: 662,563
- Under 18: 24%
- Over 65: 12%
- Married: 58.0%
- Non-Hispanic White: 81%
- Black: 8%
- Hispanic: 3%
- Asian: 6%
- Foreign Born: 11.7%
- Language other than English: 15.0%
- Median Household Income: 65,358
- Owner Occupied Housing: 74%
- Income above $200k: 7.3
- Workforce/Education (2000 census)
- White Collar: 75.2%
- Blue Collar: 14.8%
- Services: 10.0%
- Bachelor's Degree: 44%
- Graduate Education: 17.9%
- Civilian Veterans: 52,951
| Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | general | Gary Peters (D) | 184,098 | 52.1% |
| Joe Knollenberg (R) | 150,574 | 42.6% | ||
| Jack Kevorkian (X) | 9,047 | 2.6% | ||
| Adam Goodman (LIBERT) | 4,937 | 1.4% | ||
| Douglas Campbell (GREEN) | 4,800 | 1.4% | ||
| 2006 | general | Joe Knollenberg (R) | 142,390 | 51.6% |
| Nancy Skinner (D) | 127,620 | 46.2% | ||
| Adam Goodman (LIBERT) | 3,702 | 1.3% | ||
| Matthew Abel (GREEN) | 2,468 | 0.9% | ||
| 2004 | general | Joe Knollenberg (R) | 199,210 | 58.4% |
| Steven Reifman (D) | 134,764 | 39.5% | ||
| Robert Schubring (LIBERT) | 6,825 | 2% | ||
| 2002 | general | Joe Knollenberg (R) | 141,102 | 58.1% |
| David Fink (D) | 96,856 | 39.9% | ||
| Robert Schubring (LIBERT) | 4,922 | 2% | ||
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | John Kerry: 49% | George W. Bush: 50% | |
| 2000 | Al Gore: 48% | George W. Bush: 52% |
Campaign Finance Details for the 2008 Race
| Filers | Through | Total Receipts | Total Disbursements | Total From PACs | Total From Individuals | Ending Cash | Debts Owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GODCHAUX, PATRICIA (R) | December 31, 2006 | $27.00 | $197,381.00 | ||||
| REIFMAN, STEVEN W. (D) | April 25, 2007 | $44.00 | $209.00 | $44.00 | $375.00 | ||
| ROSS, RHONDA LEE (D) | December 31, 2006 | ||||||
| ASHCRAFT, JOHN DANIEL (D) | August 30, 2007 | $5,740.00 | |||||
| KNOLLENBERG, JOSEPH K. (R) | November 24, 2008 | $3,789,315.00 | $3,996,604.00 | $204,618.00 | $2,377,696.00 | $250,491.00 | |
| SKINNER, NANCY ANN (D) | March 31, 2008 | $27,572.00 | $30,438.00 | $27,547.00 | $13,680.00 | ||
| FINK, DAVID HOWARD (D) | June 30, 2006 | $4,569.00 | $1,050,000.00 | ||||
| PETERS, GARY (D) | November 24, 2008 | $2,500,941.00 | $2,467,544.00 | $114,800.00 | $1,723,266.00 | $34,704.00 | $22,373.00 |
| KEVORKIAN, JACK (UNKNOWN) | October 15, 2008 | $880.00 | $4,540.00 | ||||
