Democrat Greene Wins Michigan 35th Senate Special Election

SAGINAW, Mich. Democrat Chedrick Greene, a firefighter and Marine veteran, won a special election Tuesday for Michigan's 35th State Senate District, preserving his party's one-seat majority in the chamber through the end of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's term.

Greene defeated Republican Jason Tunney, a former prosecutor, in the race for the seat vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet after her election to Congress. The vacancy had lasted nearly 500 days, a point Republicans criticized as a delay by Whitmer in calling the election. With the win, Democrats maintain a 20-18 edge in the Senate, where they previously held a slim advantage. Republicans control the state House 58-52.

The district, spanning Saginaw, Bay City and Midland about 100 miles north of Detroit, blends urban areas with surrounding conservative rural communities. Once a hub of the auto industry, it features a large share of union-affiliated voters and a sizable Black population. Part of it lies in Saginaw County, the only Michigan county to support the winning presidential candidate in each of the past five elections.

Tunney conceded shortly after polls closed, stating he fell short in the contest. Greene...