SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Democrat Chedrick Greene won a special election in Michigan on Tuesday, securing his party’s control of the state Senate through the remainder of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s term.
Greene, a firefighter and Marine veteran, defeated Republican Jason Tunney, a former prosecutor, in the race for Michigan’s 35th Senate District, which includes Saginaw and Bay City and is surrounded by more conservative rural areas. Democrats had held a one-seat majority in the chamber, putting control at stake.
“I just want you to know who’s had your back for 31 years and you can be sure I’ll still have your backs in Lansing,” Greene told cheering supporters at a watch party, referring to the state’s capital city.
Libertarian candidate Ali Sledz lagged far back in third for the seat left vacant since January 2025. Tunney conceded the 35th state Senate district race, saying he “fell short” but vowing to run again in November. The term at play in Tuesday’s election runs only through the end of the year, leaving the seat up for reelection again in the fall.
The race was closely watched as a potential indicator for the upcoming midterms in this battleground state. The district is located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Detroit and includes Saginaw, Bay City and Midland. It is seen as reflective of the entire state and includes part of Saginaw County, the only Michigan county to back the winning presidential candidate in each of the last five elections.
“It’s really this microcosm of the Midwest, frankly,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of the seat she left upon entering Congress. “Given how much it resembles so many other places across the country, we have to look at it and say, this is an indicator of how things are going to go in November.”
Maintains Democratic majority in state Senate
Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited, setting up a competitive race in November to succeed her. With Democrats currently controlling the state Senate 19-18, Tuesday's outcome was crucial for deciding the state's legislative agenda in the months before she leaves office in January.
Republicans had made the timing of the special election a central issue, arguing Whitmer, a Democrat, waited too long to call it — leaving the district without representation in the state Senate for nearly 500 days.
Greene's victory keeps Democrats in the majority. Had Tunney prevailed, the Senate would have been tied, making it tougher for Democrats to advance their agenda.
The Michigan House is controlled by Republicans.
A temperature check on the electorate
The race is being watched as a test of voter sentiment ahead of the midterm elections, when Democrats are looking to regain power in Congress.
John Hall, a 69-year-old self-described independent, said Tuesday that he voted for Greene with the economy the pressing issue for him. He said he spent $58 at the gas station before driving to the public library in Bay City to vote.
“It’s taking a bite out of a lot of people’s budgets right now,” Hall said, adding it would have cost between $35 and $40 to fill up his car’s tank two months ago.
Some strategists caution against overinterpreting the results, noting heavy Democratic spending and high-profile visits by such figures as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said in February that the special election would “set the tone for midterms" while announcing a $250,000 investment to help Michigan Democrats retain their Senate majority in May and November.
“This is a tough race to win in any environment, but they’ve stacked the deck with the spending. And you layer the overall political environment on top of it, it’s going to be tough,” said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist in the state.
Although Republican Donald Trump carried all three counties in the 2024 presidential race, the portions of the counties that fall within District 35 are more competitive. McDonald Rivet won the seat in 2022 with 53% of the vote. Democrat Kamala Harris barely edged Trump in the district in 2024, 49.7% to 48.9%, on the strength of her 17-percentage-point lead in the Saginaw portion of the district.
Once a hub of the auto industry, the region includes a large share of union-affiliated voters and a sizable Black population, surrounded by more conservative rural areas.
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Associated Press reporter Robert Yoon contributed from Washington.
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