Ten total individuals have declared to run for the vacant 35th Senate District seat prior to the September 30th filing deadline. Six Democrats and four Republicans will face off in their respective primaries set on February 3rd, 2026. The winners will then proceed to compete in the special general election held on May 5th, 2026. Representatives Bill Schuette (R-Midland) and Timmy Beson (R-Bay City) considered entering the race but ultimately chose to seek reelection to the House instead. Rep. Schuette was regarded as the best candidate for the Republicans to retake the seat in what is expected to be a tightly contested race.

Governor Whitmer recently called for the special election after receiving attacks from Republicans who were frustrated with the Governor for not calling the election sooner. The 35th Senate District includes parts of Bay, Midland, and Saginaw counties. With Democrats holding a 19-18 majority in the Senate, a Republican victory would create a 19-19 tie, requiring the lieutenant governor to cast tie-breaking votes. The winner of the special election will also have to defend the seat again just six months later in the regular election if they choose to run.

The list of the candidates for each part are as follows:

DEMOCRATS

• Brandell Adams (Bridgeport Township) - Saginaw County Democratic Party Chair
• Martin Blank (Saginaw) - a surgeon and former Republican candidate
• Chedrick Greene (Saginaw) - former Marine and current Saginaw Fire Captain
• Dr. William Morrone (Bay City) - medical director of Recovery Pathways
• Pamela Pugh (Saginaw) - State Board of Education Chair
• Serenity Salak (Saginaw) - former Eligibility Specialist

REPUBLICANS

• Jason Tunney (Saginaw) - attorney
• Chadwick Twillman (Saginaw) - businessperson
• Christian Velasquez ( Midland) - former Dow executive
• Andrew Wendt (Saginaw) - former Saginaw City Commissioner

For more election-related news, see 2026 STATE ELECTION UPDATES

The Michigan Republican Party announced that three debates will be held for the GOP candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the governorship. Michigan Republican Party Chair Sen. Jim Runestead (White Lake), announced the debates with hope they will give voters across Michigan a chance to hear the candidates’ respective platforms directly from the candidates themselves. The debates will be held on October 29th in Sparta, November 4th in Roseville, and November 18th in Traverse City. The participants are as follows:

• U.S. Rep. John James
• State Senator Aric Nesbitt
• Former Speaker of the House Tom Leonard
• Former attorney general Mike Cox
• Pastor Ralph Rebandt
• AxMITax leader Karla Wagner
• Anthony Hudson

The 2026 primary and general elections are still over a year away but that is not stopping political movers from announcing candidacies and endorsements in hopes of shaking up the political makeup of Michigan. Here are a few new and familiar names worth mentioning:

¶Gubernatorial

• Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D-Detroit)
• Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II (D-Detroit)
• Chris Swanson (D-Fenton) - Genesee County Sheriff
• U.S. Representative John James (R-Shleby Township)
• Former Attorney General Mike Cox (R-Livonia)

¶Secretary of State

• Monica Yatooma (R-Oakland County) – Executive committee member of the Oakland County Republican Party
• Former State Senator Adam Hollier (D-Detroit) – Announced he is dropping out of the U.S. House Race for the 13th District to instead run for Secretary of State
• Articia Bomer (R-Detroit) – Previously ran in elections for Detroit City Clerk (disqualified, 2025), Wayne County Sheriff (2024), Governor (2022), Congress (2020), Michigan House of Representatives (2018), and Mayor of Detroit (2016)

¶U.S. Senate

• Current U.S. Representative Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham)
• Current State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak)
• Former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed (D-Ann Arbor)
• Former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) – Current polling has Rogers leading by a far margin against other declared GOP candidates

¶U.S. House

4th District

• Current State Senator Sean McCann (D-Kalmazoo)
• Jessica Swartz (D-Kalamazoo)
• Diop Harris (D-Battle Creek)

7th District

• Incumbent U.S. Representative Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte)
• Bridget Brink (D-Lansing)
• Josh Cowen (D-Williamston)
• William Lawrence (D-Lansing)
• Matt Maasdam (D-Ann Arbor)

10th District

• Mayor of Pontiac Tim Greimel (D-Rochester Hills)
• Christina Hines (D-Warren)
• Eric Chung (D-Sterling Heights)
• Former Prosecutor Robert Lulgjuraj (R-Sterling Heights) – Recently entered the race
• Of Note: Captain Michael Bouchard (R-Rochester Hills) – currently deployed overseas in the U.S. Army – has received endorsements from former Attorney General Bll Schuette and former-Gov. John Engler, despite the fact that he has not yet announced a campaign

11th District

• Current State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township)
• Aisha Farooqi (D-Sterling Heights) – Previously ran for Michigan House district 57 in 2022 and 2024
• Don Ufford (D-Bloomfield Village)

13th District

• Incumbent U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit)
• Current State Representative Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit)

¶Michigan Senate

2nd District

• Current State Representative Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn)
• Current State Representative Tullio Liberati Jr (D-Allen Park)

3rd District

• John Conyers III (D-Detroit) – previously ran for U.S. House of Representatives 13th District

5th District

• Current State Representative Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth)

7th District

• Current State Representative Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield) – running to replace term-limited Sen. Jeremy Moss

10th District

• Current State Representative Natalie Price (D-Berkley)
• Amanda Treppa (D-Royal Oak)

13th District

• Sean Carlson (D-Commerce Township)

15th District

• Former State Representative Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor)

19th District

• Current State Representative Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo)

20th District

• Kenny Clevenger (R-Casco Township)

22nd District

• Mike Murphy (R-Howell)

23rd District

• Current State Representative Donni Steele (R-Orion)

29th District

• Current State Representative Phil Skaggs (D-East Grand Rapids)

30th District

• Incumbent State Senator Mark Huizenga (R-Walker)
• Current State Representative Carol Glanville (D-Walker)
• Richard Kreuzer (D-Grand Rapids)

32nd District

• Rebecca Amidon (D-Manistee)
• Jay Kilgo (D-Muskegon)
• Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole (R-Ludington) – running to replace term limited Sen. Jon Bumstead (R-North Muskegon)

33rd District

• Current State Representative Gina Johnsen (R-Portland) – seen as the early favorite with endorsements by numerous senators and other republican officials
• Current State Representative Joseph Fox (R-Fremont)
• Kent County Commissioner Katie DeBoer (R-Rockford)

35th District (Special Election)

• Christian Velasquez (R-Midland)
• Dr. Martin Blank (D-Saginaw) – A surgeon and former Republican candidate, announced he is switching parties to run as a Democrat
• Of Note: Current State Representative Timmy Beson (R-Bay City) has expressed interest in running.
• Of Note: Current State Representative Bill G. Schuette has decided not to run for the 35th district Senate race, instead running for reelection in the House