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State Rep. Kara Hope is serving her fourth term, now representing Michigan’s 74th House District, which includes all of south Lansing and Delhi Township.
Rep. Hope is a lifelong resident of mid-Michigan. She grew up in a working-class union family in Ionia, where she attended public schools. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1997. She later earned a juris doctorate cum laude from Cooley Law School. A licensed attorney since 2003, Rep. Hope has worked in the public, private and academic sectors, and she has donated her legal services to charitable organizations like the Sam Corey Delhi Township Senior Center, the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council and Elder Law of Michigan. She started a solo family law practice in 2015.
Hope has long been committed to serving her community; she was founding president of the all-volunteer nonprofit Holt Community Arts Council, which produced free summer concerts and other free and low-cost family-friendly cultural opportunities. She has volunteered on the boards of the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council and Capital Area College Access Network. She has volunteered with the South Lansing-Holt Rotary, the Holt Education Foundation and as a parent volunteer in Holt schools.
In 2012, Hope was elected to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners, where she served three terms, including one as board chairperson. Rep. Hope was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2018. In this role, she has prioritized constituent outreach and policy areas of protecting the rule of law, elections and democracy; uplifting working families; and bolstering public education. She has served in leadership roles as assistant majority floor leader; chairperson of the House Criminal Justice Committee; and vice chairperson of House Ethics and Oversight Committee. As a state representative, she has been recognized for her work in health policy and human rights.