A consequential special election Tuesday across the tri-cities will decide whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Democrats maintain a slim majority in the state Senate at least until November.
Whitmer hit the campaign trail in mid-Michigan this week for 35th state Senate District Democratic candidate Chedrick Greene ahead of Tuesday’s consequential special election.
Greene, a firefighter, rallied with UAW Local 362 members in Bay City as part of a campaign event on Wednesday. He faces Republican Jason Tunney to fill an empty seat that’s been vacant for more than a year.
“This is an election that sets the table for the whole state of Michigan as we go into this important election year,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said last week, Bridge Michigan reports.
The mid-Michigan Senate seat is considered key to maintaining the one-vote Democratic majority in Michigan’s state Senate. Greene would strengthen the party’s control, while Tunney could deadlock the upper chamber with 19 Democrats and 19 Republicans until after the November general election.
“To see a full room here in Bay City in the middle of the week on a rainy day tells me there’s enthusiasm and now we’ve got to turn that into action,” Whitmer told local news reporters.
Voters in the 35th District, which covers Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland, voted in a February primary to send Tunney and Greene. The Democratic primary saw Greene defeating Michigan Board of Education president Pam Pugh. Greene, a firefighter and retired Marine, won with about 68.5% of the vote, to Pugh’s 31.5%. There were four other Democratic candidates running.
Greene won the support of labor unions and establishment Democrats like Bay City Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who left the seat to represent the area in Congress. Pugh was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and local progressives.
Tunney is an attorney and the executive vice president of his family’s manufacturing business, Duro-Last, Inc.
Greene has raised $404,302, with $55,809 cash on hand ahead of the special general election. Tunney has raised a total of $398,616 and had $42,503 remaining in his campaign account, finance reports show.
Mid-Michigan voters will cast ballots three more times this year to decide who they want to fill the seat. The special general election is May 5. The general election primary is Aug. 4, and the general election on Nov. 3.
Whitmer has been slammed by Republicans for not calling a special election in the state Senate district sooner.
Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned from the seat in early 2025 after being elected to the U.S. House.
Whitmer left the seat open for seven months before scheduling a special election, prompting conservatives to accuse her of playing politics. Lawmakers and candidates including Tunney have criticized her for leaving residents without Senate representation in the Legislature.
The delay allowed Democrats to maintain a 19-18 advantage throughout the session.
Republicans are looking to flip the seat McDonald Rivet won by seven percentage points in 2022.
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and State Rep. Amos O’Neal joined Greene at a community center in in Buena Vista Township Monday to support his campaign.
“I know I’ve spent some time in Iraq where I got to cover one of the first three elections in that country for people who were the first time voting for 80 years,” Greene said. “So don’t take it for granted. Voting is very important. Your voice does matter.”
