Democrat Carol Glanville defeated Republican Robert “RJ” Regan in a special election that officially narrows the Republican Party's edge in the Michigan state House. Glanville's victory marks the first time a Democrat has won a seat in the heavily Republican district since the early 1990s.
The results confirmed an upset victory for Democrats in a race that had become mired in controversy after Regan made headlines in March for suggesting rape victims should "lie back and enjoy it."
Regan made the statement during a virtual event in which Republicans discussed whether they should continue to promote former President Donald Trump's Big Lie that the 2020 general election had been stolen.
Regan suggested Republicans should push forward with these fictions, adding they should do the opposite of what he tells his daughters about rape and not just "lie back" and accept an election loss.
You can hear his remarks in the video below.
Full RJ Regan Commentaryyoutu.be
He said:
"Having three daughters, and I tell my daughters, ‘Well if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it so'."
"That’s not how we roll, that’s not how I won this election. We go right at it."
At the time, only Amber Harris, an Oakland County Republican activist, criticized Regan for his comments, calling them "shameful."
The other Republicans on the call laughed.
Although several members of the Michigan Republican Party disavowed Regan's comments, party leadership never asked him to formally withdraw from the race. According to Glanville, these facts and her resultant win demonstrate West Michigan residents value "integrity, decency, and care for the common good."
Glanville pledged to "take our values and concerns to the Capitol to affect positive change."
West Michigan values of integrity, decency, and care for the common good won tonight. The people of the 74th District have spoken, and I hear you. We are united in fundamental ways, and I will take our values and concerns to the Capitol to affect positive change. Thank you!pic.twitter.com/V1fCaRShFG— Carol Glanville (@Carol Glanville) 1651629972
Many have congratulated Glanville and concurred with her assessment.
I believe Carol Glanville just pulled off an +8 pt flip in a red district in western Michigan. I continue to not believe political pundits that 2022 will be a dramatic blowout by the party of out power. Decency and Democracy can still prevail.https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— Eric Ellason \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Eric Ellason \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1651670160
Oh, thank the goddess. Her opponent (Regan) is an absolute horror.https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— D (@D) 1651640819
For running and showing your district they have a choice and the choice is #HateWontWinhttps://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— MDPRuralCaucus (@MDPRuralCaucus) 1651660765
The winds of change coming out of west Michigan's typically republican stronghold.https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— Ranni Ames #IntolerantLeft\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf3b (@Ranni Ames #IntolerantLeft\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf3b) 1651666105
Congrats ma'am\nHuge trump district just fell.https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— kneeKnocker (@kneeKnocker) 1651669466
So proud of this woman. We\u2019re returning real West Michigan values up and down the ballot in November!https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— Hillary Scholten (@Hillary Scholten) 1651635015
I see we\u2019re kicking off Michigan 2022 in the right way - by flipping some seats!! https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— Alyssa Miller-Hurley (@Alyssa Miller-Hurley) 1651633542
Love trumps hate, congrats to @caglanville - see you in Lansing!https://twitter.com/caglanville/status/1521672512094019584\u00a0\u2026— Derek Dobies \u270a (@Derek Dobies \u270a) 1651633803
According to exit poll data, Michigan state House District 74, Glanville—a Walker city commissioner—won the race with 52 percent compared to Regan's 40 percent. The remaining 8 percent were largely write-in votes for other candidates.
Regan, meanwhile, has attempted to justify his remarks to his fellow Republicans, claiming in a campaign press release his message "was intentionally truncated to make it look like I said one thing, when in fact, I was saying the exact opposite."
"We don’t take it laying down, nothing is inevitable, even in the face of insurmountable odds, we fight, always we fight," Regan said, adding, in retrospect, he regrets "using an analogy that could so easily have been taken out of context."
