Jason Tunney seeks a rematch with Sen. Chedrick Greene as Rep. Timmy Beson defends his Bay City House seat against Mayor Chris Girard

BAY CITY — Bay County voters will settle two of the region’s most closely watched legislative races on Nov. 3. In the 35th state Senate District, Republican Jason Tunney is back for a rematch with Democratic Sen. Chedrick Greene, who beat him in a May special election. In the 96th state House District, Republican Rep. Timmy Beson is seeking a fourth term against Bay City Mayor Chris Girard, a Democrat. Both races are on the Bay County clerk’s official candidate list, along with a recall election in Kawkawlin Township.

Tunney tries again for the Senate. The 35th District covers parts of Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. It sat empty for more than a year after Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet resigned in January 2025 to join Congress. Greene, a Saginaw fire captain and retired Marine, won the May 5 special election with 36,583 votes, or 58.9%, to Tunney’s 24,491, or 39.4%, according to certified results reported by Ballotpedia. CNN called it another Democratic over-performance in a district that was almost evenly split in the last presidential race. Tunney, of Saginaw Township, beat Chadwick Twillman again in the August Republican primary to set up the rematch, MLive reported. Greene was unopposed. The winner of this race gets a full four-year term. U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate Laurie Atwood of Bay City is also on the ballot.

Lower taxes, public safety and the dams. Tunney is a former prosecutor who worked more than 20 years at Duro-Last, a roofing manufacturer based in the district, according to MLive. He has built his campaign around lower taxes, public safety and economic opportunity. “The Great Lakes Bay Region has real challenges — families paying too much in taxes, manufacturers dealing with overregulation and a lack of skilled trade education, and communities that still haven’t fully recovered from infrastructure failures that never should have happened,” Tunney said when he filed for the November race in April. He points to the 2020 Edenville and Sanford dam failures, which forced more than 10,000 people from their homes and damaged about 2,500 properties, as a preventable disaster. His backers include U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers, gubernatorial nominee John James, Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, former House Speaker Tom Leonard and former Attorney General Mike Cox. Greene’s campaign site, as summarized by The Ballot Brief, lists public safety funding, support for veterans, free school meals, affordable housing and lower health care costs as his priorities.

Beson defends a swing seat. The 96th District includes Bay City, Essexville and the townships of Bangor, Beaver, Frankenlust, Fraser, Garfield, Hampton, Kawkawlin, Merritt, Monitor and Portsmouth. Beson took the seat from a Democratic incumbent and has held it since 2021, and the Lansing lobbying firm MLC calls it a swing seat that Democrats have been eyeing ever since. A lifelong Bay County resident, Beson runs Beson’s Market, his family’s meat market north of Bay City, and served on the Bangor Township school board. In the House, he chaired the appropriations subcommittee on licensing and regulatory affairs, according to MLive. In an MLive questionnaire, he said tolls on the city’s bridges and traffic on the state bridges “affect commutes and add costs for families and businesses.” He also pointed to the burden Michigan’s earned sick time law puts on small employers.

Bridges split the candidates. Girard, who served nine years on the Bay City Commission before becoming mayor and spent 14 years as CEO of his family’s business, was one of nine local officials who voted to lease the city’s bridges to United Bridge Partners, the private company that now charges tolls on them, MLive reported. He has since promoted a plan to ease tolls for commuters when the free state bridges close. The company plans to raise tolls on Jan. 1. Beson opposed the original Lafayette Bridge funding plan because, he said, it didn’t cover Bay City’s full share and included what he called wasteful spending. He said he worked to secure the extra $395,000 the city needed and helped keep the Liberty and Independence bridges out of a proposed state toll program. Earlier this year he voted to rescind money set aside for the Lafayette Bridge rebuild, MLive reported, though he has said he is working to restore it.

Kawkawlin Township recalls. Kawkawlin Township voters will decide whether to recall three Republican board members: Treasurer Laurie DeShano and trustees Charles Campbell and Brian Whalen, according to the county clerk’s Aug. 31 call of election. Democrat Greg Petrimoulx is running against DeShano. For the two trustee seats, Democrats Ken MacConnell and Jim Davison and independents Melissa Enfield and Jeremy Blohm are running against Campbell and Whalen. The petition against DeShano says she changed meeting minutes prepared by the township secretary, and Campbell’s also cites meeting minutes, MLive reported. Whalen’s stems from an email about township business that he sent to Supervisor Brad Eddy from his work account. DeShano told MLive the recall was orchestrated by Eddy and said the officials under recall “have put the township first and made the necessary decisions to protect the township from conflicts of interest and legal liability brought about by Brad Eddy.” She said Eddy used township resources to gather more than half of the signatures. Eddy also faced a recall petition, but not enough signatures were turned in to put him on this ballot.

What else is on Bay County ballots. Republican Steven J. Gray faces Democrat Bill Jordan for road commissioner. Pinconning Area Schools is asking for a $19.9 million bond, estimated at 1.60 mills in 2027 and an average of 2.45 mills over up to 20 years, according to the ballot language. Freeland Community Schools wants $21.2 million at an estimated 1.984 mills in 2027. Countywide, voters will also see the Bay County library millage renewal. Parts of the county also vote in the 34th Senate District, where Republican Sen. Roger Hauck faces Democrat Tyler Landgraf, and in the 95th House District, where Republican Bill G. Schuette faces Democrat AnnMarie Horseman.

How to vote. Monday, Oct. 19, was the last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that, residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Statewide early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1; check with your city or township clerk for early voting sites and hours. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 30 by mail or online, or by 4 p.m. Nov. 2 in person at the clerk’s office. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvasses must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers certifies statewide results by Nov. 23. Voters can check their registration and see their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026: The Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, so the voting details now say so. Residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Sources:
Bay County Clerk, Official Candidate List and proposals, November 3, 2026 State General Election, https://www.baycountymi.gov/Documents/Departments/Clerk/Elections/Election%20Notices/November%203,%202026%20Official%20Candidates%20&%20Proposals.pdf
Bay County Clerk, Call of Recall Election, Kawkawlin Township, Aug. 31, 2026, https://www.baycountymi.gov/Documents/Departments/Clerk/Elections/Election%20Notices/November%203,%202026%20Call%20of%20Recall%20Election.pdf
MLive, “Jason Tunney files for November state Senate race while competing in May special election,” April 17, 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/04/jason-tunney-files-for-november-state-senate-race-while-competing-in-may-special-election.html
MLive, “Primary sets stage for November state Senate, House showdowns for mid-Michigan seats,” August 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/08/primary-sets-stage-for-november-state-senate-house-showdowns-for-mid-michigan-seats.html
Ballotpedia, “Michigan State Senate District 35” (May 5, 2026, special election results), https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_State_Senate_District_35
CNN, “Democrat Chedrick Greene’s win in Michigan state Senate election gives the party another over-performance,” May 6, 2026, https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/06/politics/chedrick-greene-democrat-wins-michigan-election
The Ballot Brief, “Chedrick Greene vs. Jason Tunney for Michigan Senate District 35,” https://theballotbrief.com/state/michigan/saginaw-county/michigan-senate-district-35
MLive, “Timmy Beson faces Chris Girard in race for Michigan House,” April 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/04/timmy-beson-faces-chris-girard-in-race-for-michigan-house.html
MLive, “Michigan’s 96th House District race: Bridge issues dominate debate,” September 2026, https://www.mlive.com/politics/2026/09/michigans-96th-house-district-race-bridge-issues-dominate-debate.html
MLC, “General Election Overview: 96th House District,” Sept. 29, 2026, https://mlcmi.com/general-election-overview-96th-house-district/
MLive, “3 Kawkawlin Township officials face November recalls,” September 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/09/3-kawkawlin-township-officials-face-november-recalls.html
MLive, “Here’s who’s on the ballot after recall election called in Kawkawlin Township,” September 2026, https://www.mlive.com/politics/2026/09/heres-whos-on-the-ballot-after-recall-election-called-in-kawkawlin-township.html
Michigan Department of State, “Absentee voting” and election calendar (registration, early voting and absentee deadlines), https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/absentee-voting
Photo: Joanna Poe, “Veterans Memorial Bridge (Bay City, Michigan) opened for freighter, view from river.jpg,” 2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), cropped and resized; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Veterans_Memorial_Bridge_(Bay_City,_Michigan)_opened_for_freighter,_view_from_river.jpg

Bay City · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Bay City · Election 2026 · State Senate · State House · Recall · Taxes