Michigan Shows Republicans Are Headed For Disaster November
Republicans were looking to flip a state senate seat to provide a hope that they may have a chance to survive 2026 by performing well in a key swing state, but those hopes were dashed.
It is a fool’s errand to project special elections onto the national political landscape. Special elections tend to be their own entities that are influenced heavily by local issues, candidate quality, and voter turnout.
In layperson terms, weird things can happen in special elections, but when a special election has statewide consequences, as it did in a special state senate election in Michigan on Tuesday, the perception shifts.
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In Michigan, control of the state Senate was on the ballot. A Republican win would have taken away the Democratic majority and forced the body into a 19-19 tie.
The Republican Party was looking at the race as a potential indicator of how the party might fare in higher statewide races in November, and what they got was some very bad news.
Democrat Chedrick Greene has won a special state Senate election in Michigan, NBC News projects, ensuring his party will keep control of the closely divided chamber.
Greene, a Marine veteran and firefighter, defeated Republican Jason Tunney, a former prosecutor, in the special election to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who resigned from the state Senate after she was elected to Congress in 2024.
It wasn’t just a loss. Greene won by 19.5 points, which suggests that dark days could be coming for Republicans in Michigan.
