Shadia Martini

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Shadia Martini

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

University of Aleppo, 1987

Graduate

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1996

Contact

Campaign website

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Shadia Martini (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan State Senate to represent District 7. She lost in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2026.

Martini completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Shadia Martini was born in Aleppo, Syria. She earned a bachelor's degree from Aleppo University in 1987. She earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1996. Martini's career experience includes working as a real estate broker, builder, as an entrepreneur, as a teacher with Aleppo University, and as a reporter with Syria TV Channel 2. She has been affiliated with the Syrian American Council, the Karam Foundation, the National Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Home Builders.

Elections

2026

See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Michigan State Senate District 7

Jason Hoskins (D) and Anthony Paesano (R) are running in the general election for Michigan State Senate District 7 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jason Hoskins (D)
	Submit photo	Anthony Paesano (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 7

Jason Hoskins (D) defeated Shadia Martini (D) and Rakesh Ramakrishnan (D) in the Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 7 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jason Hoskins	56.5	24,405
		Shadia Martini	33.8	14,572
		Rakesh Ramakrishnan	9.7	4,190

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 43,167
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 7

Anthony Paesano (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 7 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Anthony Paesano	100.0	11,677

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source	Total votes: 11,677
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Shadia Martini received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• Emgage Action

2024

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent Donni Steele defeated Shadia Martini in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donni Steele (R)	52.4	28,884
		Shadia Martini (D)	47.6	26,223

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,107
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Shadia Martini advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shadia Martini	100.0	7,849

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,849
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Incumbent Donni Steele advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donni Steele	100.0	7,504

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,504
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Annette LeBaron (R)

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Shadia Martini received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations.

• Michigan League of Conservation Voters

2022

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Donni Steele defeated Shadia Martini in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donni Steele (R)	51.2	22,960
		Shadia Martini (D)	48.8	21,912

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,872
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Shadia Martini defeated Stephanie Fakih and Gary Gerson in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shadia Martini	39.3	3,786
		Stephanie Fakih	35.3	3,402
		Gary Gerson	25.4	2,451

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,639
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54

Donni Steele defeated Sandy Kiesel in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 54 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donni Steele	57.6	5,992
	Submit photo	Sandy Kiesel	42.4	4,415

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,407
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ken Trafton (R)

2020

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Incumbent Kyra Harris Bolden defeated Daniela Davis and Tim Yow in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kyra Harris Bolden (D)	82.9	49,096
		Daniela Davis (R)	15.9	9,412
		Tim Yow (L)	1.2	693

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,201
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Incumbent Kyra Harris Bolden defeated Shadia Martini in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kyra Harris Bolden	90.2	23,737
		Shadia Martini	9.8	2,577

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,314
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Daniela Davis advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniela Davis	100.0	2,946

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,946
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 35

Tim Yow advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 35 on July 18, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Tim Yow (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shadia Martini completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Martini's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria, under the Assad dictatorship, where freedom of speech, assembly, and political dissent were suppressed. Living under authoritarian rule taught me never to take democracy or our freedoms for granted.

I earned a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Aleppo, taught at the university for four years, and later conducted urban planning research at the Vienna University of Economics and Business under a scholarship from the Austrian government. After immigrating to the United States, I earned an MBA from the University of Michigan with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate.

For nearly 30 years, I have been a small business owner, builder, and real estate broker. At a time when Michigan faces a severe housing crisis, I bring expertise that is largely absent in state government.

I have also been a human rights advocate, serving on the Board of the Syrian American Council and as Michigan representative for the Karam Foundation. My life experiences—as an immigrant, housing expert, entrepreneur, and advocate—give me a unique perspective and a deep commitment to protecting democracy, expanding opportunity, and serving the country that gave me my voice back.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am a housing expert with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, research experience in urban planning, an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate, and nearly 30 years of experience as a builder and real estate broker. My work has given me practical expertise in housing development, construction, financing, zoning, and homeownership. Michigan is facing a complex, multi-layered housing crisis, and addressing it requires an understanding of how these issues interact. My professional background has provided me with firsthand experience across many aspects of the housing sector.
• I grew up in a country where elections did not provide citizens with a meaningful opportunity to choose their leaders. That experience shaped my appreciation for democratic institutions and the importance of protecting the right to vote and ensuring that voting remains accessible to eligible citizens. My experiences also influence how I view current debates about the role of public institutions, immigration enforcement, economic inequality, and government accountability. I believe these are significant public policy issues that deserve careful attention and open democratic debate. Having lived under an authoritarian system, I value strong institutions, the rule of law, due process, transparency, and civic participation.
• Michigan has faced persistent challenges in K–12 education over the past two decades. Student achievement in reading and mathematics has lagged behind many other states on national assessments, and the state has experienced ongoing concerns about literacy, chronic absenteeism, teacher shortages, and disparities in educational outcomes among districts. These trends have prompted discussions about school funding, early literacy, teacher recruitment and retention, student mental health, and career and technical education. Many educators, policymakers, and community leaders agree that improving educational outcomes will require sustained investment, evidence-based instruction, and policies that help all students succeed regardless of where they

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Housing is the area of public policy I am most passionate about because shelter is a basic human need. Michigan is experiencing a severe shortage of housing units, which has contributed to rising costs and made homeownership and rental housing less attainable for many families. As a housing expert, I have spent my career working in this field and understand the many factors that contribute to the housing crisis. There is a great deal we can do to increase housing supply and improve affordability through thoughtful planning and policy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shadia Martini did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shadia Martini did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shadia Martini completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Martini's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Shadia Martini was born and raised under brutal dictatorship in the Middle East. She came to the US in 1992. She has a B. Sc. in architectural engineering and and MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

She has been a resident of Franklin since 1992. She is a real estate broker, a builder, and a small business owner. If elected, she would be the first Syrian-American woman representative in Michigan's House. Shadia is an anti-authoritarian activist and has worked with refugees for 5 years.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am not a career politician. I am running because I believe that I can make a difference.
• I have rich and diversified experiences that can bring a different perspective to Michigan's House of representatives.
• I bring my work ethics and ability to work with others, to the table.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1- I am passionate about relieving our residents from the excessive property tax burden. This is an issue that affects every single one of us, whether a home owner or a renter. It is a thorny issue that no one wants to touch.

2- I am passionate about creating more equitable public education system. 3- I am passionate about treating clean water as a basic human right. 3- I am passionate about refugee rights. These people are thoroughly vetted before being admitted to our country. They need the proper support. They also need to be protected from deportation.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I always looked up to my mother. She was a pioneer in her own right. My mother was born in 1932 in a small town in northern Syria called Idlib. She was sent by her parents to boarding school in the big city nearby in 6th grade, when she was only 10 years old. There was no middle school for girls in her town at the time. She went on to become the first dentist in her town and later the first oral surgeon in all of northern Syrian. My mother taught me morals, work ethics, and critical thinking.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe that the core responsibility of a state representative is to work on improving your constituents' lives - fiscally and socially.

What legacy would you like to leave?

As the first Syrian-American woman in Michigan's state house, I would like my legacy to be a substantial paradigm shift in how our state handles refugees fleeing into our borders.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

In 1978 Egypt's president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin singed a "Framework for Peace" after meeting with Jimmy Carter at Camp David. This would have never happened, without the pressure from the US administration. This historical event carried the hopes of scaling down violence and wars in the Middle East. I was 13 years old at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a teacher's assistant at Aleppo University school of architectural engineering. I was overseeing students in architectural design and urban planning. I was there for 4 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The American Plague by Molly Caldwell Crosby. It is a fascinating book about the suffering in the US from Yellow fever and how a group of doctors managed to find what caused it at great personal loss. At this point in time when we are dealing with COVID-19, a book like The American Plague gives you a historical perspective of dealing with pandemics.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

Michigan voted for term limits in 1992. Members of the house are limited to 3 terms, while members of the senate are limited to 2.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do not believe so. Career politicians become focused on keeping their seats. Bringing fresh perspectives into public office can make a significant difference in performance and outcomes.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Our state's greatest challenges over the next decade are:

1- Infrastructure. 2- Education.

3- Funding.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

The ideal relationship would be that of cooperation and compromise.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It is very important and beneficial to build relationships with other legislators. We all share similar and sometimes identical challenges. Exchanging ideas and experiences, can save a lot of money and hassle. There is no need to keep reinventing the wheel.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I firmly believe that redistricting should not be politically motivated.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Shadia Martini campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Michigan House of Representatives District 54	Lost general	$1,589,754	$0
2022	Michigan House of Representatives District 54	Lost general	$480,559	$0
2020	Michigan House of Representatives District 35	Lost primary	$32,934	N/A**
Grand total			$2,103,246	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Candidate

Michigan State Senate District 7

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Michigan State Senate

Senators

District 1

Erika Geiss (D)

District 2

Sylvia Santana (D)

District 3

Stephanie Chang (D)

District 4

Darrin Camilleri (D)

District 5

Dayna Polehanki (D)

District 6

Mary Cavanagh (D)

District 7

Jeremy Moss (D)

District 8

Mallory McMorrow (D)

District 9

Michael Webber (R)

District 10

Paul Wojno (D)

District 11

Veronica Klinefelt (D)

District 12

Kevin Hertel (D)

District 13

Rosemary Bayer (D)

District 14

Sue Shink (D)

District 15

Jeff Irwin (D)

District 16

Joseph Bellino (R)

District 17

Jonathan Lindsey (R)

District 18

Thomas Albert (R)

District 19

Sean McCann (D)

District 20

Aric Nesbitt (R)

District 21

Sarah Anthony (D)

District 22

Lana Theis (R)

District 23

Jim Runestad (R)

District 24

Ruth Johnson (R)

District 25

Dan Lauwers (R)

District 26

Kevin Daley (R)

District 27

John Cherry (D)

District 28

Sam Singh (D)

District 29

Winnie Brinks (D)

District 30

Mark Huizenga (R)

District 31

Roger Victory (R)

District 32

Jon Bumstead (R)

District 33

Rick Outman (R)

District 34

Roger Hauck (R)

District 35

Chedrick Greene (D)

District 36

Michele Hoitenga (R)

District 37

John Damoose (R)

District 38

Ed McBroom (R)

Democratic Party (20)

Republican Party (18)

Capital: Lansing

Michigan

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