Michigan Senate 35th District Special Election Tightens as Both Sides Build Momentum Ahead of May 5 Vote

A Narrow Majority on the Line

A special election is scheduled for May 5 to fill the open 35th District seat in the Michigan Senate. Democrat Chedrick Greene, Republican Jason Tunney, and Libertarian Ali Sledz are on the ballot.

The district includes parts of Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland. Greene secured the Democratic nomination in February, winning his primary by a margin of more than 30 percentage points. Campaign officials for Tunney say voter support has shifted since the primary and point to recent campaign activity and a March candidate forum.

The Stakes: A One-Seat Majority

The seat became vacant after Kristen McDonald Rivet was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The outcome of the election could affect the current balance of power in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority.

Right now, Democrats have a one seat majority in the Michigan Senate. If the Democratic candidate, Chedrick Greene, wins the election in May, Democrats will keep control of the upper chamber. If Jason Tunney, the Republican candidate, wins the Senate will be tied and things get complicated.

More broadly, this special election is a precursor to the upcoming midterm elections in Saginaw County, a consistent bellwether for the state. The outcome of this election will say a lot about where the state may be headed later this year.

The Democratic Candidate: Chedrick Greene

In the February primary, Greene dominated five Democratic opponents — he bested the runner-up by nearly 33 percentage points — while the number of votes cast in the Democratic primary outnumbered the Republican primary engagement by 46%, following a post-2024 election nationwide trend favoring Democrats.

Greene, a Saginaw firefighter and Marine, remains confident the momentum built during the primary will carry over into the May showdown. "The Greene-for-state Senate campaign is excited about what our candidate, team and volunteers hear on the doors, and when out and about in the community," the campaign statement read. "Enthusiasm is strong. People are sharing that they've already cast their vote for 'Greene the Marine' and asking to take pictures with supporters in Greene T-shirts while shopping at Sam's Club."

Voting is already underway, with absentee ballots arriving this week in households across District 35.

The Republican Challenge: Jason Tunney

But despite primary election math that may have provided supporters with confidence in his chances at winning an open Michigan Senate election seat, Greene is no shoo-in to win next month's election, his GOP opponent's campaign said.

Officials from Tunney's campaign said the Republican has built a serious momentum of his own, positioning the former Duro-Last executive for an election win. "Chedrick Greene is not prepared to be the next state senator from the Great Lakes Bay Region; he's just not," said Brian Szmytke, senior advisor for the Tunney campaign.

Szmytke said his confidence in Tunney extends beyond the Republican's competency for the position. Other factors fueling that confidence include a March candidate forum that Szmytke said showed Tunney was better suited for public office, as well as fallout from the Democratic primary matchup between Greene and runner-up Pamela Pugh.

"The Democratic primary was extremely nasty between Chedrick and Pam Pugh," Szmytke said. "We talk to Pam Pugh voters every day that say, 'I'm not voting for Chedrick,' and some of them tell us they'll vote for Jason, and some tell us they're sitting home (for the May election)."

Some of those post-primary feelings from Pugh advocates played out in public spaces. Following Greene's victory, Pugh on her Facebook page reposted messages from supporters critical of campaign tactics during the Democratic primary, although those posts did not cite the Greene campaign specifically.

Pugh released a statement thanking her supporters, acknowledging their "anger" and stating "unity that requires silence in the face of harm is erasure."

Szmytke said Tunney also gained an edge on Greene during a March 24 candidate forum at Saginaw Valley State University, where both the Democrat and Republican fielded questions. Szmytke compared Greene's performance to that of President Joe Biden during a June 2024 presidential election debate that many experts cited as the beginning of the end of his re-election bid.

The Libertarian Wild Card: Ali Sledz

Sledz, meanwhile, said she knows her chances of besting Greene or Tunney in May would amount to "the upset of the century." But Sledz said she plans to work hard to win with the hope that, if she loses, she will have grown the region's support for Libertarian Party policies.

She earned her spot on the May ballot via a nomination at the Libertarian Party of Michigan convention in January, excluding her from the name-recognition boost Greene and Tunney received when they appeared on primary election ballots. Her state Senate bid launched months later than the Greene and Tunney campaigns.

Organizers of the March candidate forum at SVSU even excluded her from the stage because they viewed the level of support for her state Senate bid as too low.

Still, Sledz said she hopes to play a "wild card" role in an election system often shaped by the two dominant political parties. She said her policy ideas — centered on shrinking the role of government in residents' lives — should appeal to voters fed up with Democratic and Republican party rule.

"They continue to consolidate power and the people left behind — the normal people — are saying, 'No one is listening to me,'" said Sledz, a Midland resident. "My opponents are beholden to a party and, yes, I have a party as well, but my party wants to leave you the heck alone."

Campaign Attacks and Counterattacks

While the Republican's campaign officials said Greene has relied too much on out-of-state financial support for his campaign, the Greene campaign has pointed out Tunney was the largest contributor to his own campaign fund as of a February finance disclosure filing deadline.

"Have a quick scroll through each campaign's social media platforms," a Greene campaign statement read, "and you'll see a stark contrast: a man of the people in a variety of community spaces with a strong coalition of supporters versus a one-man show who hasn't mobilized much beyond his personal checkbook."

The Seat at Stake

Voters will send the winner to occupy the seat left vacant after then-state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, departed Lansing for the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2025.

The May special election could shake up the power balance in Lansing, where Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state Senate, 19-18. The election will determine who completes what will remain of Rivet's state Senate term, which expires at the end of this year.

That means voters will cast ballots for District 35 in a second 2026 election cycle that concludes in November. The winner of the November election will sit in the District 35 state Senate seat beginning in 2027.