New legislative leaders have been chosen for the coming year at the state Capitol. House Republicans were the last group to elect their next majority leaders. They chose state Representative Jase Bolger.
Bolger thinks the sizable House Republican caucus will work well with their Democratic counterparts.
"The challenges we face in this state are too great to allow any politics or partisanship to stand in the way," he says. "We have to focus on the issues, and we understand that we'll not always agree, but we have to be professional and focus on those issues."
House Democrats elected Representative Richard Hammel to lead the minority caucus.
Hammel says House Democrats have to correct some past mistakes.
"What's important to us, I believe is what's important to working families in this state," he says. "And I think we lost our way when it came to the message, the last term a little bit, and we'll definitely be working awful hard to make sure people know what we stand for."
Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans by a significant margin in the elections.
Senate Republicans also chose their leader. Senator Randy Richardville will replace term-limited Senator Mike Bishop next year as Senate Majority Leader.
Richardville is considered a moderate Republican. He thinks his voting record is pretty conservative, but he knows some people do not view it that way.
"When you're willing to listen to the other side, to reach across the aisle to come up with solutions, then sometimes you get criticized for that," he says. "I welcome that criticism and won't change the way I work with the other side."
Senate Democrats last week chose Senator Gretchen Whitmer to lead the minority caucus. She will be the first female leader in the state Senate.
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