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

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Since 2009, she has served in the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

. 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

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

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county on the eastern shore of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, bordering Detroit to the north and containing many of its northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Mt. Clemens, a ...

and includes the city of St. Clair Shores and Harrison Township, as well as the small portion of

Grosse Pointe Shores Grosse Pointe Shores (officially Village of Grosse Pointe Shores, a Michigan City) is a city in Wayne and Macomb counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,647 at the 2020 census, down from 3,008 in 2010. Grosse Pointe Shore ...

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 (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

, receiving her bachelor's degree in 2000. She served as a community organizer for

Clean Water Action Clean Water Action is an American environmental advocacy group. Created in 1972, the group focuses on canvassing and gaining support for political issues and candidates. It is a 501(c)(4) organization and is based in Washington, D.C. History The ...

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 Lake St. Clair () is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day they first saw the lake. ...

. It includes the city of St. Clair Shores, 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 women politicians 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature