A Michigan state representative running for a competitive state Senate seat skipped nearly half of all recorded floor votes during her time in the legislature, all while drawing her full taxpayer-funded salary. Republicans call her record a disqualifier. Her campaign says the numbers lack context.
State Rep. Jasmine Rhodes, a Democrat representing a district in the Detroit suburbs, missed approximately 47 percent of recorded votes during her tenure in the Michigan House, Fox News reported. The figures, drawn from official legislative records, cover her full service in the chamber. Rhodes now wants voters in a battleground state Senate district to send her to the upper chamber.
Michigan state representatives earn a base salary of roughly $71,685 per year, funded entirely by taxpayers. Rhodes collected that salary throughout her House tenure. Yet legislative records show she was absent for close to half of all floor votes held during her service.
The Michigan House holds recorded votes on bills, resolutions, and procedural motions throughout each legislative session. Missing a substantial share of those votes means a lawmaker is absent for key decisions on policy, spending, and governance that directly affect constituents.
Republican critics seized on the attendance record. The Michigan Republican Party labeled Rhodes a "no show" legislator and argued her absenteeism disqualifies her from a promotion to the state Senate.
A spokesperson for the Michigan GOP framed the issue in blunt terms, saying voters in the swing Senate district deserve a representative who actually shows up to work. The party pointed to the contrast between Rhodes drawing a full public salary and failing to cast votes on behalf of the people who elected her.
Rhodes' campaign disputed the characterization, arguing the raw vote-miss percentage does not capture the full picture of her legislative work. A campaign spokesperson said Rhodes was engaged in committee work, constituent services, and other legislative duties during some of the periods when she missed floor votes.
The campaign did not provide a detailed breakdown of which votes Rhodes missed or the specific reasons for each absence. Nor did the campaign dispute the underlying percentage cited in the legislative records.
Rhodes has not publicly addressed the attendance record in detail on the campaign trail. Her campaign's response focused on reframing what counts as legislative work rather than contesting the data itself.
The state Senate district Rhodes is targeting ranks among the most competitive seats in Michigan's 2024 legislative map. Control of the Michigan Senate could hinge on a handful of swing districts, and both parties have identified this race as a priority.
Michigan's state Senate holds significant power over the state budget, judicial confirmations, and policy on issues from criminal justice to education. A single seat can shift the balance in a narrowly divided chamber.
Republicans view the attendance issue as a potent line of attack in a district where persuadable voters may not follow Lansing politics closely. The argument is simple: if a lawmaker will not show up for votes in the House, why would the Senate be any different?
Democrats, meanwhile, need to hold and gain seats in districts like this one to maintain or expand their legislative power in a state that has become one of the nation's premier political battlegrounds.
Legislative absenteeism is not unique to Rhodes or to either party. Lawmakers in state capitals across the country miss votes for a range of reasons, from illness and family obligations to political strategy and scheduling conflicts. But a rate approaching 50 percent stands out.
Michigan does not have a formal mechanism to dock a state legislator's pay for missed votes. Representatives and senators receive their full salary regardless of attendance, a structure that critics say removes any financial accountability for chronic absenteeism.
Some states have explored or adopted rules that penalize lawmakers for excessive absences. Michigan has not joined them. That means the only real check on a legislator's attendance record is the voters themselves.
For Rhodes, the path to the state Senate runs through a district where voters split closely between the two parties in recent cycles. Name recognition, turnout, and candidate quality all matter in races this tight.
Republicans plan to make the attendance issue a centerpiece of their campaign against Rhodes. Mailers, digital ads, and opposition research highlighting the missed votes are expected to saturate the district in the months ahead.
Rhodes' campaign will need to offer voters an affirmative case for her candidacy that outweighs the absenteeism narrative. Whether committee work and constituent services resonate as a counter-argument in a general election remains untested.
Voters in the district have not yet had a chance to weigh in at the ballot box on whether the missed votes matter to them. That question will be answered on Election Day.
Taxpayers pay their legislators to show up, cast votes, and make decisions. When a lawmaker misses nearly half of those votes and still collects every dollar of a public salary, the question is not complicated. It is whether accountability still means anything in a system designed to let voters enforce it.
