A shortage of funds in two central Michigan counties could have widespread implications in a special election for a state legislature seat, potentially handing Democrats a decisive advantage in a race that could decide control of the state’s upper chamber.
Democrats currently control the Michigan Senate by a margin of one seat. That could change on May 5, when a special election to fill a vacancy in the chamber is set to take place in the state’s 35th Senate District. The district contains three counties: Saginaw, Bay, and Midland. Saginaw, the most Democratic of the three counties, has opted to have early in-person voting for the May election. Midland and Bay counties, which both lean more toward the GOP, meanwhile, have chosen not to do so, citing financial concerns.
In 2022, the last year a state Senate election was held in the district, the Democratic nominee won Saginaw — the most populous of the three counties — by a margin of 61% to 39%. The Republican, meanwhile, won Midland comfortably, and Bay was split roughly in half.
Given the collapse of support Republicans have seen in recent cycles when Trump isn’t on the ballot, and the historic underperformance of the party in the White House during midterm elections, Saginaw could remain blue in May despite narrowly flipping red in 2024.
This may give local Republicans cause for concern as the county’s early voting could net Democrats additional votes, a potentially decisive factor in the swing district.
Local leaders, even those in Saginaw, are pushing for state funding so that early voting can occur throughout the entire district.
In January, local officials penned a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) requesting special election funding.
“We, the undersigned, are seeking your assistance with a Supplemental Appropriation to cover the costs our local governments will incur because of the special Primary Election and special General Election for this legislative seat,” the letter reads. “Our municipalities work tirelessly to manage our limited financial resources for our residents, resources even more constrained now due to recent budget cuts. The 35th Senate Seat represents 270,000 residents in three counties, and we believe that the cost of these two Special Elections for the State Senate seat should be paid for by the State of Michigan.”
Officials from all three counties reportedly signed on to the letter.
There is precedent for such funding, as the state provided $750,000 for special elections held in the 13th and 25th State House Districts during fiscal 2023-2024.
The Michigan governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Michigan Republicans have accused Whitmer of playing politics by delaying the special election to safeguard Democratic control of the state legislature. When the seat is filled on May 5, it will have sat vacant for a total of 18 months.
“The vacant desk on the floor of the Michigan Senate is starting to collect dust,” Republican state Sen. Aric Nesbitt wrote in March 2025. “More than 115 days have passed since former state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet was elected to her new seat in Congress. … The governor has called for 10 special elections to fill open legislative seats over the six years since she’s been in office, taking around 17 days on average to fulfill her constitutional obligation.”
“It should not be up to her or me or any other single elected official to determine if the state Senate operates with a new 19-19 tie or returns to a 20-18 split for the remainder of the current legislative term,” he continued. “That is a question for the voters of the 35th District.”
Democratic control of Michigan’s legislature has had far-reaching effects across the state.
After taking control of the state legislature for the first time in nearly four decades following the 2022 elections, Michigan Democrats, with the support of Whitmer, pushed through reams of transformative legislation, including making it more difficult for religious organizations to discriminate against LGBT people, repealing the state’s law protecting workers from compulsory union membership, and enacting stricter gun control measures.
Another action taken by Michigan’s newly Democratic state legislature in 2023 was the introduction of a bill that would have provided early voting reimbursements for special elections. Though the legislation passed the House, it never made it through Michigan’s Senate.
Now that expanded early voting could dissolve the Democratic majority in Michigan’s Senate, it is unclear if Democrats will support similar funding proposals.
If Republicans win the state legislature seat in May, Michigan’s Senate would be split 19 to 19 between the two major parties. While Michigan’s lieutenant governor, who is a Democrat, decides ties in the state’s Senate, if even one Democratic lawmaker is absent in an evenly split chamber, the party’s power to advance legislation evaporates, as there would be no tie for the lieutenant governor to break.
