Before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address Wednesday evening, protesters and Republican state legislators called on her to declare a special election to fill the open state Senate seat in district 35.
It's been empty since Jan. 3 after former state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) resigned to take her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes the cities of Bay City, Saginaw and Midland and has over 270,000 residents. It’s a swing district that supported President Donald Trump, and McDonald Rivet in the November elections.
On a chilly, gray evening in front of the capitol building, high-profile Michigan Republicans gave speeches calling on Whitmer to declare the special election. Attendees wore yellow buttons that said, “Free the 35th District.” They also held up signs reading, “District 35’s Rights Are Not Optional” and “Special Election Now.”
“We know this is a competitive seat,” said Senate Minority Leader and 2026 candidate for governor Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) during an interview with WCMU. “The Republicans can win, and the governor, for purely political reasons, is trying to prevent us from having representation in this district,” he said. “She's known about this for nearly four months and there still has not been a special election called.”
The state Senate currently has a 19-18 Democratic majority. A GOP win would make Lieutenant Gov. Garlin Gilchrist the tiebreaking vote on legislation in that chamber. Bree Moeggenberg of Isabella County attended the rally, she said her friends in the Tri-Cities feel unrepresented.
"Representative Bill Schuette nailed it right on the head. If they only have half the representation, are they only paying half their taxes," she said. “The GOP is united and they're ready to move forward, but in the same breath, even if a Democrat were to win, those voters need that representation,” she added.
Late last month, Whitmer said she was working on a timeline for the election. The state constitution gives the governor leeway in determining special election dates. The gap between McDonald Rivet’s resignation and the declaration of a special election is one of the longest of Whitmer’s tenure.
“We do have certain election dates that are written into the law, but now my legal team is looking at it and I'm sure they'll be coming and making some recommendations to me in the coming weeks," Whitmer told WCMU at the Northern Michigan Policy Conference on Jan. 31.
The Governor's office did not respond to a further request for comment.
