Updates About Governor

The Michigan Senate voted unanimously, 35-0, to pass earmark transparency bills SB 596 and HB 4420. The House and Senate equivalent bills would require all legislative earmarks to be submitted at least 45 days prior to being voted on. Earmarks are requested by legislators and are directed to an organization through grant funding in the state budget for a specific project.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) previously led the charge to set the period at 60 days after the Senate had passed the bill with a 10-day period prior to voting. In addition to the 45-day compromise, SB 596 also specifies that any earmark proposal done in the first year of a two year legislative session can be funded in both fiscal years. Earmarks proposed in the second year would still only apply to the final fiscal year of the budget cycle.

Both bills passed the House with a 101-0 vote before being presented to the governor. On November 18th, both bills were signed by Governor Whitmer with immediate effect.

The Stargate company is coming to Michigan. Helmed by tech giants such as OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and Microsoft, the company aims to invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure and development by 2029. Saline Township, Michigan is the 5th location announced out of 20 new AI data centers the company plans to build around the country. The data center’s plans for this rural farming town bring with it a whopping spending estimate of $10 billion.

Back in September, the township board refused to rezone the farmland plot required for building the data center after local residents raised concerns about pollution and the eventual increase in utility costs. However, an agreement was reached when Stargate offered to invest $14 million upfront to the township to go toward fire services, farmland preservation, and the community investment fund, plus an annual investment of $9.6 million into the township’s government and local school for the next 25 years.

Governor Whitmer praises the investment after working with Stargate to secure a deal since the project was first announced. She predicts the building will create 2,500 construction jobs, as well as 450 permanent on-site jobs and 1,500 jobs within the county.

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