Michael Lahti (born 1945) is a politician from the State of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Lahti served in the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

representing the 110th District, which is located in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

and includes all of Iron County,

Gogebic County Gogebic County ( ) is the westernmost county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, and the westernmost in the state as a whole. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 14,380. The county seat is Bessemer. This was historical ...

Ontonagon County Ontonagon County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, the population was 5,816, making it Michigan's third-least populous county. The co ...

Baraga County Baraga County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,158, making it Michigan's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is L'Anse. The county is named after Bishop ...

, Houghton County,

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

and Powell Township in Marquette County.

Biography

Lahti was born in

Hancock, Michigan Hancock is a city in Houghton County, Michigan, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton, Michigan, Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 United ...

on October 10, 1945 and graduated from Hancock High School. He graduated from

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

in 1967. A year after he graduated, Lahti opened a

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...

agency in Hancock. Lahti was a small business owner and real-estate developer, owning private and commercial lands all across the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...

. Lahti lives in Hancock with his wife, Sharon Lahti. He has six children and eight grandchildren.

Political career

Lahti was elected to the Hancock area School Board in 1994, where he served for seven years. Also in 1994, he was appointed to the

Finlandia University Finlandia University is a private Lutheran university in Hancock, Michigan. It is the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as The Suomi College and Theological Seminary, it is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Ch ...

board of trustees, where he served for 13 years. In 2000, Lahti was elected to the Houghton County Commission as a Democrat. He served as chairman of the Commission for 6 years. In 2006 he announced his intention to run for the State House seat District 110, being vacated by Democrat Rich Brown. The 110th District is located in the western portion of the

and is one of the largest in the state. Lahti easily won the Democratic Primary, and went on to face Republican Dave Schmidt in the General Election. He won 64% to 34%. He was easily re-elected in 2008 with 70% of the vote. In 2010 Lahti ran for the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

in the 38th district, which includes the western Upper Peninsula. Lahti lost to former state representative Tom Casperson.

Later career

Since leaving the House in 2011, Lahti has returned to the real estate profession. He has also been re-appointed to the Board of Trustees of Finlandia University.

Electoral history

*2010 election for State Senate **Tom Casperson (R), 56% **Mike Lahti (D), 44% *2008 election for State House **Mike Lahti (D), 70% **John Larson (R), 30% *2006 election for State House **Mike Lahti (D), 64% **Dave Schmidt (R), 34%

External links

Rep. Lahti's official House Democrats websiteRep. Lahti's Michigan Senate campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahti, Michael 1945 births Living people People from Hancock, Michigan American people of Finnish descent Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Northern Michigan University alumni 21st-century American legislators