Republican State Senate Candidate Jason Tunney Files for November Race While Competing in May Special Election

State Senator Vacancy Could Define Michigan Politics as Jason Tunney Bets on Long-Term Fight

Jason Tunney has filed paperwork to run again for Michigan's 35th Senate District in the November 2026 general election, signaling his intent to stay in the race regardless of the outcome of the May 5 special election.

The Saginaw native and former prosecutor is competing in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Kristen McDonald Rivet, who left for the U.S. House of Representatives. Tunney said the move demonstrates his commitment to bringing a voice to Lansing for the Great Lakes Bay Region.

"This district has gone without a State Senator for too long, and the people of the Great Lakes Bay Region deserve a fighter in Lansing — not just for the next few months, but for the long haul," Tunney said in a statement.

Tunney has centered his campaign on lower taxes, public safety, and economic opportunity. He also emphasized infrastructure resilience, citing the 2020 Edenville and Sanford dam failures as a preventable disaster. Those dam failures forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents and caused over $200 million in damage to 2,500 properties in the district.

"The Great Lakes Bay Region has real challenges — families paying too much in taxes, manufacturers dealing with overregulation and a lack of skilled trade education, and communities that still havent fully recovered from infrastructure failures that never should have happened," Tunney said. "I've lived these issues. I've worked through them. And I'm ready to go to Lansing to solve them."

His candidacy has drawn support from several prominent Republicans, including Mike Rogers, the presumptive Republican U.S. Senate nominee, Congressman John James, Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, former Speaker Tom Leonard, former Attorney General Mike Cox, and Perry Johnson.

The November 2026 general election for Michigan's 35th Senate District is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.

A Long Campaign of Door Knocking and Phone Calls

Tunney worked more than 20 years at Duro-Last, a manufacturing company headquartered in the district. His campaign has made contact with voters through knocking on more than 20,000 doors and placing over 35,000 phone calls. Tunney personally knocked on more than half of those doors, according to the campaign.

Tunney has centered his campaign on lower taxes, public safety, and economic opportunity. He has also emphasized infrastructure resilience, citing the 2020 Edenville and Sanford dam failures as a preventable disaster. Those dam failures forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents and caused over $200 million in damage to 2,500 properties in the district.

"The Great Lakes Bay Region has real challenges — families paying too much in taxes, manufacturers dealing with overregulation and a lack of skilled trade education, and communities that still havent fully recovered from infrastructure failures that never should have happened," Tunney said. "I've lived these issues. I've worked through them. And I'm ready to go to Lansing to solve them."

A First-Time Candidate With A Legal Background

This would be Tunney's first elected role. Despite his lack of political experience, Tunney cites his experience as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Saginaw County prosecutor's office for four years, as well as 20 years spent working at Duro-Last, a roofing company started by his grandfather.

"I'm not a career politician, but I think that I'm uniquely qualified for this role at this time," he said.

Tunney said his experience as a prosecutor and in his family business sets him apart from other candidates, and that the issues he's addressing are important to all voters, regardless of political party.

"The core issues for everybody in the district are the core issues for everybody no matter what side of the aisle they're on," Tunney said. "Everybody wants a better education for their kids. Everybody has a right to feel safe in their community and in their homes. Everybody should have a right to weigh in on these issues with taxes."

A Vacant Seat Could Define the State Senate

The 35th Senate seat has been vacant since Jan. 1, when Kristen McDonald Rivet left for the U.S. House of Representatives. The race has the potential to end the Democrats' narrow 19-18 majority in the state Senate.

Whitmer called a special election to fill the 35th District Senate seat in late August.

Tunney described his priorities as education, public safety and taxes. He cited statistics showing Michigan's fourth-grade reading levels are 44th in the nation as evidence that improvement is needed in the state.

"We've got to have more of the budget money and the school funding money directed to early literacy campaigns — pre-K through second grade, third grade," Tunney said. "We need to reinstitute a real third-grade literacy test with very few exceptions. We need to have an A through F grading system for schools that parents can clearly understand how their school ranks. And we need to have transparency in curriculum."

Tunney wants to lower state income tax from 4.25% to 4%, with a long-term vision of competing with Indiana's 3% income tax. He also contrasted Michigan's 6% corporate income tax to Indiana's 4.9%.

"We are becoming a tax-heavy state," Tunney said. "We're becoming a burden on small businesses and people in this state. We're taking more money out of their pocket. I don't see what incentive there is for people to move here to Michigan when Indiana and Ohio are showing net migration gains compared to us."

Another priority for Tunney is making Michigan more business friendly. In addition to taxes that he feels are too high, Tunney says state agencies like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy are over-regulating Michigan industries.