Matt Koleszar
Matt Koleszar (Democratic Party) is a member of theMichigan House of Representatives, representingDistrict 22. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Koleszar (Democratic Party) is running for election to theMichigan State Senate to representDistrict 5. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled onAugust 4, 2026.[source]
Biography
Matt Koleszar earned a bachelor's degree in history teacher education from Saginaw Valley State University in 2006 and a master's degree in English studies from Eastern Michigan University in 2011. Koleszar's career experience includes working as a high school social studies teacher with Airport Community Schools.[1]
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Koleszar was assigned to the following committees:
2023-2024
Koleszar was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Koleszar was assigned to the following committees:
- Education Committee
- Elections and Ethics Committee,Minority vice-chair
2019-2020
Koleszar was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 5
Matt Koleszar is running in the Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 5 on August 4, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Matt Koleszar | |
| There are noincumbents in this race. | |||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement,click here.
2024
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
IncumbentMatt Koleszar defeatedAdam Stathakis in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar (D) | 52.5 | 31,555 |
 | Adam Stathakis (R) | 47.5 | 28,555 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 60,110 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
IncumbentMatt Koleszar advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar | 100.0 | 11,351 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 11,351 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
Adam Stathakis defeatedChristian Charette in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Stathakis | 73.3 | 6,098 |
 | Christian Charette | 26.7 | 2,219 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 8,317 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Koleszar received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Koleszar's endorsements as published by their campaign,click here.
2022
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
IncumbentMatt Koleszar defeatedCathryn Neracher in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar (D) | 54.2 | 28,051 |
 | Cathryn Neracher (R) | 45.8 | 23,660 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 51,711 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
IncumbentMatt Koleszar advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar | 100.0 | 12,198 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 12,198 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22
Cathryn Neracher advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 22 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cathryn Neracher | 100.0 | 9,805 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 9,805 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Rob Donovic (R)
Campaign finance
2020
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
IncumbentMatt Koleszar defeatedJohn Lacny in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar (D) | 55.1 | 33,034 |
| John Lacny (R) | 44.9 | 26,931 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 59,965 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 20
IncumbentMatt Koleszar advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar | 100.0 | 14,541 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 14,541 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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 election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
John Lacny defeatedLaura Roush in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | John Lacny | 58.8 | 6,553 | |
| Laura Roush | 41.2 | 4,594 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 11,147 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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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Campaign finance
Endorsements
- LEAP Forward[2]
2018
General election
Matt Koleszar defeated incumbentJeff Noble in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar (D) | 51.4 | 24,797 |
 | Jeff Noble (R) | 48.6 | 23,430 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 48,227 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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
Matt Koleszar advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 7, 2018.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Koleszar | 100.0 | 11,543 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 11,543 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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
IncumbentJeff Noble advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Noble | 100.0 | 10,063 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 10,063 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia 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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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Matt Koleszar has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.Send a message to Matt Koleszar asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Matt Koleszar,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the surveyhere.
You can ask Matt Koleszar to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing matt@mattformichigan.org.
2024
Matt Koleszar completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Koleszar's responses.
Expand all |Collapse all
I served in the State House for five and a half years and am proud of the work my team and I have done to serve the district and the state.
I was the lead sponsor of Michigan's distracted driving law which has proven to have reduced distracted driving accidents and fatalities.
I also sponsored a fix to the Police and Fire Survivors' tuition grant that now ensures that any child of a Police Officer or Firefighter that dies in the line of duty, can go to college tuition-free in Michigan.
I am proud to have the endorsement of multiple state and national organizations including the UAW, MEA, AFL-CIO, Police Officers Association of Michigan, Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, The Small Business Association of Michigan and more.- Restoring our public schools to their former top-10 status is crucial to attracting and retaining talent in Michigan. As chair of the Education committee, we have started repairing the damage that has been done to our public schools for the past 40 years.We have taken action to reign in unfettered charter schools, helped retired teachers return to the classroom, address the literacy crisis, and make our schools safer.
- Clean air and clean water our vital to our state's survival. Not only in the literal sense, but for the purposes of tourism and agriculture. it is crucial that we protect our environment.Corporations who pollute our waterways should be held fully responsible for the cleanup. Fines for violations should be swift and severe to ensure compliance.I was proud to work with the AG to hold a local landfill accountable for over a decade of air quality violations that were making the air of many Northville residents horrible to breathe.
- I am proud to support the working families in Plymouth, Northville, and Livonia. I support a worker's right to join a union to ensure they are paid fairly. I was proud to vote in support of the expansion of the EITC, and universal school meals.During the COVID-19 Pandemic my office helped over a thousand constituents in getting the unemployment benefits they deserved. We helped small business owners by opening direct lines of communication so that they could be up to date with public health orders.
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.
2022
Matt Koleszar did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Matt Koleszar did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also:Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Matt Koleszar participated inBallotpedia's candidate survey on September 25, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Matt Koleszar's responses follow below.[3]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Fully funding our public schools in Michigan. Protection of the environment. | ” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | First and foremost, public education. I have spent my adult life as a teacher and as a State Representative I will fight on behalf of teachers and students, ensuring that our schools are safe and set students up to succeed. I don't believe that guns have any place in our schools and the thought of arming teachers is obscene to me. I am also a staunch advocate for the protection of our great lakes. We need to prevent pollution and hold polluters accountable for the full cost of their damages. We need to ensure that all Michigan have access to safe, affordable drinking water.Cite error: Invalid | ” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Matt Koleszar answered the following:
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else that best describes your political philosophy?
| “ | "Backpack Full of Cash" a film about how the negative effects of the prioritization of for-profit charter schools and the DeVos family. I recommend it to everyone interested or concerned about the issue.[5] | ” |
| “ | Legislators should prioritize accountability and accessibility to their constituents, above all else. This means attending debates/forums and answering constituent calls, legislators unwilling to be accessible don't deserve the right to serve.[5] | ” |
| “ | As an educator, I have learned the skills of leading by example and being the best role model I can be for our next generation. I believe that our youth can accomplish incredible things, when provided with help and support they need. As an A.P. government teacher, I have studied our nation's governmental system from top to bottom and have seen the pitfalls that come with ignoring crucial parts of our constitution, like the separation of Church and State.[5] | ” |
| “ | I would like to leave a legacy as someone who truly represented their district and stood up for working families, not corporations. I would like to be part of getting our public schools back on the path back to their former glory with a top-10 ranking. Most importantly, I want to leave the state house knowing that I did everything that I could to ensure that our future generations have a Michigan with clean air and water, with vibrant cities and beautiful green spaces. I want to leave a Michigan that has great public schools that ensure that every child has a fair chance at success.[5] | ” |
| “ | While I see some value in legislators having previous experience, I see more value in electing those that are actually representative of the constituency. Specifically, I think that more occupations should have their seats at the table. As a teacher, I will be a steadfast advocate for our public schools and for the teachers and students of the public school system. My firsthand experience will make me a valuable resource for my colleagues.[5] | ” |
| “ | Michigan's greatest challenge ahead of us will likely be insuring that our lakes and rivers in the strate are clean of pollution and harmful chemicals, such as PFAS. Without our great lakes and vibrant green spaces, Michigan stands to lose a lot of its tourism revenue in addition to the health issues that we will suffer.[5] | ” |
Campaign finance summary
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 theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Michigan House of Representatives District 22 | Won general | $358,290 | $0 |
| 2022 | Michigan House of Representatives District 22 | Won general | $531,701 | $0 |
| 2020 | Michigan House of Representatives District 20 | Won general | $305,788 | N/A** |
| 2018 | Michigan House of Representatives District 20 | Won general | $191,054 | N/A** |
| Grand total | $1,386,833 | N/A** | ||
| Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections 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. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Michigan scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 10 to December 23.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 11 to November 14.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 12 to December 28.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 13 to December 31.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 8 to December 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, theMichigan State Legislature was in session from January 9 through December 31.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
Candidate Michigan State Senate District 5 | Officeholder Michigan House of Representatives District 22 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑LinkedIn, "Matt Koleszar," accessed May 2, 2023
- ↑LEAP Forward, "6. ENDORSEMENTS," accessed June 30, 2020
- ↑Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Matt Koleszar's responses," September 25, 2018
- ↑5.05.15.25.35.45.55.65.7Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Steenland (D) | Michigan House of Representatives District 22 2023-Present | Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Jeff Noble (R) | Michigan House of Representatives District 20 2019-2023 | Succeeded by Noah Arbit (D) |
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