Traverse City’s 103rd House District: Rep. Betsy Coffia seeks a third term as Republican Edwin Dean runs on lower taxes and faster housing approvals

TRAVERSE CITY — Voters in Traverse City, its neighboring townships and all of Leelanau County pick their state representative on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a 103rd House District race that could help decide which party runs the Michigan House next year.

Democratic Rep. Betsy Coffia of Traverse City is seeking a third term. Her Republican challenger is Edwin Dean, a Northport Village Council member who owns and runs a home health agency and is making his first run for state office. Libertarian Michael Gorbe of Traverse City, who ran for Grand Traverse County sheriff in 2024, is also on the ballot.

The district covers Traverse City; Garfield, East Bay, Acme, Long Lake and Peninsula townships in Grand Traverse County; all of Leelanau County; and Almira and Platte townships in Benzie County, according to The Ticker. It was considered safely Republican until 2022, when Coffia beat the incumbent by fewer than 800 votes and became the first Democrat in more than a century to represent the Traverse City area in the House, Interlochen Public Radio reported. Republicans now hold a thin House majority, and Dean wants to add to it.

Dean: taxes, spending and permits

Dean told The Ticker he wants to permanently lower Michigan’s 4.25% income tax rate, run a full review of state spending and change the formula that pays for roads and infrastructure. He is sharply critical of state grants and tax breaks for private companies. “I just find it absurd that we spend millions of dollars on corporate subsidies or we’re giving tax cuts to data centers when we really should be focusing on our small businesses, our communities,” he said.

On housing, Dean says regulation is the problem. At the Cherry Pie Debate in Glen Arbor, he said rules add about $100,000 to a project and stretch approvals to about a year and a half. He wants a “by-right” system in which a project that meets existing zoning and building codes is approved by a local administrator without discretionary review or public hearings.

He backs Enbridge’s plan to move Line 5 into a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. “It’s safer, it’s cheaper, and necessary for Michigan,” Dean said at the debate. He told The Ticker that federal agreements between the U.S. and Canada keep the state from shutting the pipeline down. For rural health care, he would expand MIDOCS, a state program that pays doctors to train in underserved areas and repays up to $150,000 in loans.

Coffia: health care, rentals and campaign money

Coffia has introduced MiCare, House Bill 4407, which would create a statewide universal health care system; it has not had a House vote. “We need healthcare for all as a right,” she said at the debate. She also wants to let local governments tax short-term rentals to pay for attainable housing and infrastructure, a bill she said realtors “killed” last term, and backs a package she calls “Take Mi Power Back” to limit corporate political spending. She has called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shut down Line 5.

Where they agree

The two candidates line up on more than their parties do. Coffia told The Ticker the state should repeal the data center tax breaks passed in late 2024 and adopt a multi-year moratorium on AI data centers, and Dean also objects to tax cuts for data centers. Both want state lawmakers covered by the Freedom of Information Act, and both support a push by local officials, including Traverse City Manager Benjamin Marentette, to send a share of tourism money back to the communities that host the visitors.

How to vote

Traverse City voters also decide a 20-year extension of the downtown tax increment financing plan. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can find their polling place and see their full ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Sources:
The Ticker, Bill O’Brien, “Candidates Square Off In 103rd State House Race,” Oct. 18, 2026 (district boundaries, candidates’ backgrounds, platforms, quotes, Gorbe), https://www.traverseticker.com/news/candidates-square-off-in-103rd-state-house-race/
Interlochen Public Radio, Maxwell Howard, “Coffia, Dean face off over housing, health care and Line 5 in 103rd District race,” Oct. 12, 2026 (2022 margin, Cherry Pie Debate quotes, MiCare, MIDOCS, Line 5), https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/ipr-news/2026-10-12/coffia-dean-face-off-over-housing-health-care-and-line-5-in-103rd-district-race
Photo: Phoenix-Five, “Downtown Traverse City from Wayne Hill,” Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Traverse_City_from_Wayne_Hill.jpg

Traverse City · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Election 2026 · 103rd House District · Betsy Coffia · Edwin Dean · Leelanau County · Grand Traverse County · Michigan House