Democrat Chedrick Greene defeated Republican Jason Tunney on Tuesday in a special election for a mid-Michigan state Senate seat that had sat empty for more than a year.
Grenene’s win maintains Democratic control of the Michigan Senate through the rest of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s term. A Republican win would have forced Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist to serve in a tie-breaking vote.
On Tuesday night, unofficial results show Greene beat Tunney by nearly 20 percentage points.
Greene acknowledged the historic nature of his election win, becoming the first Black man to represent the tri-cities, comprised of Midland, Bay City and Saginaw, in the state Senate.
“I am deeply honored to be the first African American person ever elected to represent any part of our Great Lakes Bay Region,” Greene told supporters at his victory party Tuesday night, the Midland Daily News reported. “We delivered this decisive victory by listening and speaking to the things keeping everyday people up at night — worries about affordability, safety, and freedom,” Greene said in his victory speech.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a post Wednesday that the contest was a “massive defeat for MAGA Republicans.” Jeffries said Greene’s huge win meant two House Republicans from the state, Reps. Tom Barrett and Bill Huizenga, were “officially on notice.”
Tunney conceded the race early Tuesday evening after the polls closed, saying the two would likely meet again in the November general election.
“This is only the halfway point,” Tunney said. “As we head into November, the contrast between Chedrick and myself will only become clearer to more and more voters. I’m excited about what lies ahead, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Greene, a retired fire captain from Saginaw, over performed in a district previously held by Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet. Rivet left the state Legislature when she was elected to Congress in 2025. Rivet campaigned with Greene, as did Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Greene defeated progressive state board of education chair Pam Pugh in the August primary.
He ran on his background at the Saginaw Fire Department and as a Marine, saying he would lower prices for consumers.
“Congrats to Chedrick Greene on a landslide victory last night! Because of his hard work, Democrats are expanding their majority in Michigan’s state Senate,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin said on social media. “The only way we are going to nurse our country back to health is by electing good, decent people to public office. Senator-elect Greene is one of those leaders, who has dedicated his life to serving our country and his community.”
Democrats across the country took notice of Greene’s decisive win Tuesday.
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which boosts Democratic Party campaigns for state legislatures, said Greene’s win provides an early look into what to expect come the November general election.
“His victory defends the Democratic majority in the Michigan Senate and builds undeniable Democratic momentum for November, which is an all-hands-on-deck moment for building state legislative power all across the country,” Williams said. “The DLCC is clear-eyed about the stakes of 2026 elections in the wake of the Callais ruling and is building an unprecedented operation to meet this moment. Our strategy to remake the landscape of state legislative power doesn’t end with special elections – we’re just getting started.”
