Politics at play in Senate non-election; why not for the Supreme Court, too? 

By this time next week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will likely have broken new ground in having waited more than 74 days to call a special election in a vacant state Senate seat previously held by now-U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. 

Rivet had represented the tri-cities area in Saginaw, Midland and Bay City until voters in the 8th Congressional District picked her to succeed now-retired U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee. 

Typically, when a state legislator leaves office for whatever reason — another opportunity, scandal, health issues, or death — Whitmer and predecessor Rick Snyder have waited an average of 11 days to call a special election to fill the vacancy. 

A marked exception was in the fall of 2021 when the late Rep. Andrea Schroeder died, and Whitmer waited 74 days to call a special election due primarily to logistic issues. 

In this case with Rivet, Whitmer is taking her sweet time for another reason. The stakes are much higher. 

If a Republican nominee wins the race to succeed Rivet, the state Senate will be locked in a 19-19 tie, with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II needing to break any tie. 

The Republicans could gum up anything the Democrats might want by having a member refuse to vote. The margin would be 19-18, one vote short of a majority to pass just about anything. 

Meanwhile, if Whitmer leaves the seat open, Democrats will keep their majority 19-18 among the 37 senators elected and serving. Gilchrist has no voice in the matter.  

Whitmer and the Democrats lost the House in the last election; she doesn’t want to risk losing the Senate, too. 

Also, the word from inside the party is that they don’t have a candidate they feel comfortable with running against the Republicans’ likely nominee, the son of a former attorney general, state Rep. Bill G. Schuette. 

There is no requirement in state statute or the Constitution regarding when a governor must fill a vacancy. 

The Senate Democratic majority has the 35th Senate District staffed with a customer service person, so a constituent with an issue could still get help. The residents there simply don’t have a vote on the Senate floor. 

What’s likely going to happen? My guess is Whitmer waits until early next year and calls the special election to line up with the 2026 General Election, which leaves 250,000 constituents in the tri-cities area without representation for about 675 days, darn near two years. Unless you’re a Republican in the area, few will know or care. 

Snyder made Detroit go without a member of Congress for 336 days after U.S. Rep. John Conyers resigned in disgrace in 2017. He suffered zero consequences.

Meanwhile, Whitmer has another appointment coming. Chief Justice Beth Clement will step down by April 30 to become the president of the National Center for State Courts. 

Trust me, it won’t take her 675 days to fill this one. 

I have no inside information, but the governor could employ the domino approach that former Gov. John Engler made popular. 

He would pick a justice from the Court of Appeals, giving him an appointment to the Court of Appeals, which he’d choose from the Circuit Court. With a Circuit Court position freed up, he’d go to the District Court to fill it. This would open a new judgeship that he could fill. 

One vacancy = four appointments. Not bad. 

What if Whitmer took this to another level? Let’s say she appointed term-limited Attorney General Dana Nessel to the Supreme Court. At the relatively young age of 55, Nessel could run a couple more times before being aged out. 

Meanwhile, the governor could appoint a replacement Democratic AG, who could run as an officeholder in 2026 with a head start in the election. 

I’m not endorsing the idea or suggesting it will happen, but if Whitmer is clearly employing politics to keep the SD-35 open in perpetuity, it’s not a stretch to suggest she could do it again. 

(Kyle Melinn is the editor of the Capitol news service MIRS. You can email him at melinnky@gmail.com.)