Democrat Chedrick Greene won his Michigan state senate race against Republican rival Jason Tunney on Tuesday, delivering a crucial victory for his party.
The special election in the 35th District was significant because if Tunney had prevailed, Democrats would have lost their majority in the state Senate, resulting in an even split. As it stands, the competitive seat will be up for election again in November, offering Tunney a second chance to flip the district red.
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“We delivered this decisive victory by listening and speaking to the things keeping everyday people up at night — worries about affordability, safety, and freedom,” Greene said in his victory speech.
With 94.5% of the expected vote in, Greene carried around 59% of the ballots. Tunney won less than 40%.
“Chedrick Greene just rounded out our special election season with a decisive victory in one of the highest-stakes battleground districts in the country,” a statement from Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams reads.
“His victory defends the Democratic majority in the Michigan Senate and builds undeniable Democratic momentum for November, which is an all-hands-on-deck moment for building state legislative power all across the country,” the statement continues. “The DLCC is clear-eyed about the stakes of 2026 elections in the wake of the Callais ruling and is building an unprecedented operation to meet this moment. Our strategy to remake the landscape of state legislative power doesn’t end with special elections – we’re just getting started.”
The Callias ruling struck down Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map that gave the state a second majority-black district, throwing the primary calendar into chaos. Since the ruling, Republicans in southern states have committed to redrawing other maps ahead of their primaries, and Democrats have responded in kind in blue states.
Tunney is running against Greene again in November. The special election was called when Democrat Kristen McDonald-Rivet resigned to take her seat in Congress. McDonald-Rivet has emphasized the district’s politically purple slant, noting that she was the only Michigan Democrat to win a district that also backed President Donald Trump during the 2024 election.
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“Tonight, we fell short in the special election, but I’m incredibly proud of what this campaign accomplished together,” Tunney said in a statement following his loss Tuesday evening.
“This is only the halfway point,” he continued. “As we head into November, the contrast between Chedrick and myself will only become clearer to more and more voters. Thank you for fighting alongside me. We’re just getting started!”
