Lansing, MI – On Wednesday the State Legislature will reconvene in Lansing for the first time in 2025. But the State Senate will be short one member, leaving one corner of the state without a voice in the crucial chamber.
In the not-so-distant past, Governor Whitmer quickly called special elections in safe Democrat seats when it was in her political best interest to do so (much to the chagrin of local clerks). But Kristen McDonald Rivet’s resignation following her recent election to Congress creates a Democrat vacancy in a competitive State Senate District, leaving many to wonder if Whitmer will follow her own precedent, or delay a potential threat to her party’s power in Lansing.
“This is hypocrisy at its finest from Governor Whitmer. There’s a laundry list of pressing issues that taxpayers expect lawmakers to tackle right now. If Whitmer plays politics with this vacancy, hundreds of thousands of Michiganders will be without a voice during crucial debates in Lansing that impact their bottom dollar,” said Zach Rudat, Advocacy Director for Michigan Freedom Fund. “Taxpayers in the Great Lakes Bay Region deserve better from Governor Whitmer than hypocrisy and gamesmanship. They deserve their own voice in Lansing and they deserve it promptly. The Governor should put the public’s interest ahead of her party’s interest and call this special election as soon as possible.”
While Whitmer and Lansing Democrats have been silent on this vacancy, Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt has been calling on the Governor to act for weeks.
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