Sarah Roberts (born December 9, 1974) is an American politician from the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Since 2009, she has served in the

Michigan State 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 U ...

. 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 ...

, Roberts represents the 24th State House District, which is located in eastern

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, making it the third-most populous co ...

and includes the city of

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

and Harrison Township, as well as the small portion of

Grosse Pointe Shores Grosse Pointe Shores is a city in Macomb and Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,008 at the 2010 census. Grosse Pointe Shores was incorporated as a village in 1911 and was part of Grosse Pointe Township in Wayne ...

that is located within Macomb County. Prior to being elected in 2008, Roberts represented Northern St. Clair Shores in the Macomb County Commission.

Biography

Sarah Roberts was born on December 9, 1974, in Michigan to Helen and Charles Roberts. She graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, receiving her bachelor's degree in 2000. She served as a community organizer for Clean Water Action of Macomb County from 2003 to 2005. She worked in the communications department of the House Democratic Caucus in the Michigan State House of Representatives from 2005 to 2006 before being elected to the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.

Political career

In 2006, Roberts announced her candidacy for the Macomb County Commission. She ran for the 24th District, located in Northern St. Clair Shores. The 24th district, which leans Democratic, was being vacated by Democrat Peggy Kennard. Roberts defeated Republican Richard Doan by a large margin. She served on the commission for two years before being elected to the State House of Representatives. In January 2008, Roberts filed to run as a Democrat for the 24th State House District, which was being vacated by Republican Jack Brandenburg, who was barred from running for re-election due to term limits. She faced seven other Democrats in the primary election, but still carried 63% of the vote. The 24th District is a narrow district that runs north-to-south along Lake St. Clair. It includes the city of

, Harrison Township, and a small portion of

, and is normally a battleground district, although it historically favored Democrats (prior to Jack Brandenburg, the seat had been held by a Democrat going back to the 1970s). In the general election, Roberts faced Republican Bryan Brandenburg, an unsuccessful candidate for Macomb County Commission and son of then-current Representative Jack Brandenburg. The race for the 24th District was one of the most competitive in Michigan. The state Democratic Party alone invested over $220,000 in the race, an unusually high number for a state house race. The race featured a large amount of negative campaigning, including adds that raised questions about four incidents involving Brandenburg in which the police investigated but no charges were filed, including an assault accusation at a party. On election day, Roberts emerged narrowly victorious by just over 1,000 votes, or about 2%. President Obama carried the 24th District by a similarly narrow 51.5%-46.4% margin. Roberts took office on January 1, 2009. She sits on the Education, Energy and Technology, Great Lakes and Environment, and Military, Vet. Affairs, and Homeland Security Committees.

Electoral history

*2008 campaign for State House **Sarah Roberts (D), 49.4% **Bryan Brandenburg (R), 47.1% *2006 campaign for Macomb County Commission **Sarah Roberts (D), 59.2% **Richard A. Doan (R), 39.2%

References

External links

House Democrats Website Detroit News Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sarah 1974 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Women state legislators in Michigan University of Iowa alumni People from St. Clair Shores, Michigan 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians