Saginaw fire captain Chedrick Greene defeated State Board of Education president Pamela Pugh in the packed Democratic primary for the special election in Michigan’s 35th state Senate district Tuesday, according to unofficial results.
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.
Greene will face Jason Tunney in the May 5 general election for the seat that was left vacant for more than a year.
“In this incredibly important time, for this incredibly important race, I deeply respect the trust voters have placed in me,” Greene said in a press release. “As we set our sights toward the General Election, voters have a clear choice — a leader grounded in working class experiences, who has put his life on the line for three decades defending our freedoms and protecting Michiganders; or an out-of-touch Republican rubber stamp who is too MAGA to denounce this administration’s violent violation of our Constitutional rights.”
Pugh, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and local progressives, told Michigan Chronicle it was disappointing not to earn the support of her party.
“What we’ve been hearing from people on the ground when we’ve been knocking doors is people want leadership that will stand up for them, and we’ve seen a lot of leadership that has been standing up for the well connected and the wealthy,” Pugh said.
The Associated Press called the election around 11pm for Greene and called the Republican race a few minutes before midnight.
An ad campaign supporting Pugh paid for by a GOP connected group received criticism from Democratic leaders, many who silently backed Greene. On Election Day, the state party shared, and quickly unshared, a post from Rivet on telling people to vote for Greene.
A group called ProgressiveMI, which campaign finance records reveal has ties to Republican groups, sent out material including a message championing Pugh’s values: “Making Medicare for All a Reality & Standing Up to ICE.”
The tactics suggest Republican opponents saw Pugh as the weaker candidate in a general election.
Greene raised and spent more than double than Pugh during the latest reporting period, $258,000 compared to Pugh’s $121,000, though both ended with about $20,000 left in their coffers, campaign finance records show.
