Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls special election for state Senate seat that could split Michigan chamber

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called a special election Friday for a state Senate seat that has been vacant for nearly nine months, setting up a contest that could let Republicans hobble Whitmer’s agenda in the Democrat’s final year in office.

The 35th Senate District has been unrepresented in the Legislature all year after its former lawmaker, Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. Democrats now hold a slim 19-18 majority in the chamber, and a GOP victory could give Republicans the ability to block Democratic policy in Whitmer's last months as governor, since she is term limited and cannot run again.

Republicans have repeatedly slammed Whitmer, who has the sole power to call an election to fill the seat, for leaving the district without a state senator. Even some state Democrats had started calling for the governor to set dates on an election in the past month.

Whitmer has largely dodged an explanation for why she hadn't set dates for an election, and her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gov-gretchen-whitmer-calls-special-182556773.html