A new video of a recent Saginaw area town hall is offering insight into why residents of Michigan’s 35^th Senate District remain without representation in Lansing four months after the November election.

“At a Saginaw Area Town Hall, @GovWhitmer’s staff claims there’s been no special election announced for SD 35 because of an ‘issue with @MichiganDems’ and deflected blame claiming it’s a ‘political conversation,” the Michigan Freedom Fund posted to X, along with a video of the event organized by state Rep. Amos O’Neal and featuring Whitmer’s Director of Public Affairs Mikhail Perkins.

🚨 Breaking News! 🚨

At a Saginaw Area Town Hall, @GovWhitmer’s staff claims there’s been no special election announced for SD 35 because of an “issue with @MichiganDems” and deflected blame claiming it’s a “political conversation”.

Is @CurtisHertelJr advising the Governor to… pic.twitter.com/ewWbKCn05G

— MichiganFreedomFund (@MichiganFreedom) March 4, 2025

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

“Is @CurtisHertelJr advising the Governor to leave 270,000 taxpayers without a full voice in Lansing for political reasons?” the fund questioned, referring to former Gov. Gretchen Whitmer advisor and Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The Michigan Freedom Fund, which bills itself as “the first line of defense against the radical Left,” also linked to a “Restore MI Voice” webpage it created to track “how long … the Great Lakes Bay Region will be without a voice in the state Senate.”

The timer on the page is at more than 60 days.

That’s how long it’s been since the district’s previous Democratic state senator, Kristen McDonald-Rivet, was sworn in to Congress to represent Michigan’s 8^th Congressional District, replacing the retired longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee.

Whitmer has known since the November election – 119 days ago – she would need to call a special election to replace McDonald-Rivet in Michigan’s upper chamber.

Folks in Saginaw wanted to know why she’s leaving them hanging in the wind.

“I’m here to ask why the 35^th District does not have a state Senator, why the governor has not called for a special election?” a constituent who identified herself as Karen asked officials in the town hall video.

“This is currently taxation without representation,” she said as the room erupted in applause.

“So, when you, um, when there’s a call for a special election, um, there are legal hurdles you need to jump through, and what you’re speaking to, mam, is more of an issue with, um, the party, the Michigan Democratic Party, as it relates to the election, and … it’s all about timing,” one official said.

“Because there has not been one, does not mean there will not be one,” he said.

“It only took her about 20 days two years ago to call an election in other districts. Why are they more important than we are?” Karen shot back. “It’s been four months. You’re snowing us, sir.”

“Again, I hear your concern. What you’re speaking to is more of a political conversation. It’s more of a political, capital P, conversation rather than the issue that we’re here for today,” the official said. “I’ve heard you, we’ve heard you, we’ll take that concern back to the governor.

“We got to move on,” another official chimed in.

Republican leaders in both chambers of the Michigan legislature have repeatedly called on Whitmer for months to call a special election, and constituents from Midland, Bay, and Saginaw counties last week took buses to the capitol to protest the governor’s inaction.

In an op-ed in The Detroit News on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, who is vying to replace Whitmer in 2026, acknowledged the governor has “had a lot on her plate lately, like traveling the country from San Francisco to Martha’s Vineyard and Seattle to D.C. to keep up with her national book tour while also finding time for overseas adventures to Spain and Dubai.”

But he noted “it was just a year ago, after two seats were vacated in the Michigan House, that she had special election dates announced within 24 hours.” Political observers know that’s because the vacancies left Democrats without a majority in the lower chamber.

“It should not be up to her or me or any other single elected official to determine if the state Senate operates with a new 19-19 tie or returns to a 20-18 split for the remainder of the current legislative term. That is a question for the voters of the 35th District,” Nesbitt wrote.

Data on the Restore MI Voice website compares the time it has taken Whitmer to call special elections for races that would benefit Democrats, versus those that would not.

On average, it took Whitmer just two days for the former, compared to 30 days for the latter, according to the site.

Rep. Bill G. Schuette, R-Midland, suggested it all amounts to the governor “playing politics” at the capitol protest last week, according to the Midland Daily News.

“The governor talked about being a governor for all Michiganders (in her State of the State address),” Schuette said. “She talked about bipartisanship. Well, clearly she doesn’t think that applies to the people of the 35th State Senate District because there are more than 270,000 Michiganders in Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties who are unrepresented. They have half of a voice in our state legislature, but they’re paying a full share of taxes.”

The 35^th Senate District stretches across five state House districts represented by Rep. Graham Filler, R-St. Johns; Rep. Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw; Schuette; Rep. Timmy Beson, R-Bay City; and Rep. Matt Bierlein, R-Vassar.

Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties went 54.8% for President Donald Trump in the November election, and has been represented by a Republican every year since 1965, until McDonald-Rivet took office in 2023.