Whitmer Decides to Leave the 35th Without a Voice for 500 Days

Lansing, MI - After 238 excruciating days, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has finally announced a special election to fill the 35th state Senate District. But the damage is already done. It will have been more than 500 days since the seat was vacated by the time voters in the Great Lakes Bay Region are represented again.

The timeline is absurd. Senator Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned on January 3, 2025. Today, Whitmer set the special election filing deadline for September 30, 2025, with the primary election scheduled for February 3, 2026, and the general election on May 5, 2026. That means nearly a year and a half with no senator representing almost 270,000 Michiganders.

During that time, the people of the 35th have had no say on some of the biggest issues in Lansing: multi-billion dollar budget negotiations, decisions on school funding, infrastructure, and public safety. While every other district had a seat at the table, Whitmer deliberately chose to silence the 35th.

The contrast is glaring. In 2024, when two Democrat House seats opened, Whitmer called special elections immediately and they were both filled within five months. For the 35th, she has dragged her feet and now chosen a timeline that will leave the 35th Senate seat vacant for more than 250 more days. This week, The Wall Street Journal blasted Whitmer’s inaction.

“This announcement comes 238 days too late. Governor Whitmer’s delay was, and still is, just about politics,” said Mary Drabik, a spokesperson for Michigan Forward Network. “Families in the Great Lakes Bay Region have been ignored during critical debates on schools and roads, and now they’ll continue without representation until May of next year. Whitmer chose to ignore the district and teased residents for months with vague commitments, only to leave them without representation for over 500 days by the time the election is certified. This egregious inaction is a new low for Gretchen Whitmer.”