FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Trevor Step
Email: vcpoliticaldirector@michiganlp.org
Website: https://michiganlp.org/
Governor Whitmer Drags Her Feet on Filling Vacant 35th District Senate
— Nothing screams “hypocrisy, not democracy” louder than a Democratic governor who shrieks about democracy for two years and then locks all the doors when it’s time to walk the walk.” –
Calling the refusal to hold a special election to fill the now-vacant 35th District seat in the Michigan Senate an “outrage,” Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, Trevor Step, is demanding that Governor Gretchen Whitmer schedule a special election immediately.
“The battle cry for U.S. independence from Great Britan in 1776 was based on the idea of ‘No taxation without consent,’” said Step. “Yet here we are in 2025, and nearly 270,000 Michiganders have no representative in Lansing because of the current 35th District vacancy.” The 35th District includes parts of Saginaw, Bay, and Midland counties; it was vacated when Kristen McDonald Rivet was elected to the U.S. Congress in November 2024. “Governor Whitmer and the Democrats spent the last two years screaming about democracy, but now she is stalling on filling that empty seat. She knows it’s not a shoe-in for Democrats to win, so she’s doing the slow walk. Fearing that the seat could go to a Republican, Libertarian, or Independent, she is denying citizens the option of representation.”
“As recently as 2022, a bipartisan bill required a special election to be scheduled within 30 days of a vacancy,” said Mr. Step. “That bill was vetoed by Governor Whitmer. So, call me skeptical when it comes to her devotion to the democratic process. Protests already sprang up throughout the district, but calls to fill the seat are falling on deaf ears because Whitmer’s gang might not win,” Step added.
“The most likely reasoning behind Whitmer’s foot-dragging is that she needs time to find the perfect puppet to bow to her every demand. She also wants to assemble enough financial backing to guarantee a win and hold onto her extremely thin majority in the State Senate. A win by any candidate not loyal to her agenda could be catastrophic to her vision of turning Michigan to the next failed state behind California,” said Step. “Unless you’re from Cuba, this is not the proper way to govern, and the citizens of Michigan are not being served. It’s tragic,” said Step, That the Governor can’t be bothered to ensure that the citizens of this great state are represented in Lansing.”
Trevor Step
Political Director
Libertarian Party of Michigan
