Three Candidates Battle for Open Michigan Senate Seat as Saginaw County Special Election Approaches

State Senate Race in District 35 Draws Democrats, Republicans and Libertarian

Saginaw County voters will decide the next state senator for District 35 on May 5, with Democrats, Republicans and a Libertarian all vying for the seat. The special general election will fill the vacancy left by state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who departed Lansing in January 2025 to join the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early in-person voting begins Saturday, April 25 at the Saginaw County Early Voting Center located at 618 Cass St. adjacent to the courthouse. The center will operate through Sunday, May 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.

The special general election will fill the 35th State Senate District seat. Voters in Buena Vista Township, Carrollton Township, Saginaw Township, Kochville Township, Tittabawassee Township, Zilwaukee Township and the cities of Saginaw and Zilwaukee will participate in the senate race.

Ballot proposals also appear for residents of Buena Vista, Birch Run Area Schools, Saginaw Township Community Schools and Bay City Public Schools.

Democrat Chedrick Greene won his party primary by nearly 33 percentage points, besting the runner-up. Greene served as a Saginaw firefighter and Marine.

Republican Jason Tunney, a former Duro-Last executive and former Saginaw County assistant prosecutor, is the GOP nominee.

Libertarian Ali Sledz, a Midland resident, earned her spot on the May ballot via nomination at the Libertarian Party of Michigan convention in January, excluding her from the name-recognition boost Greene and Tunney received from primary election ballots.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of McDonald Rivets 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.

The May special election could shake up the power balance in Lansing where Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state Senate 19-18.